COORDINATORS OF THE SOCIETY: Alex Artuchov, Publisher & Treasurer
P.J. Campbell, Secretary
Andrew Cronin, Editor
Rev.L.L. Tann, CSRP Representative in
the United Kingdom.
The Society gratefully thanks its contributors for helping to make
this an interesting issue.
1993. Copyright by The Canadian Society of Russian Philately. All
rights reserved. All the contents in this issue are copyright and
permission must be obtained from the CSRP before reproducing.

The CSRP has decided to ignore for the time being the various items now
pouring out from the successor states of the former Soviet Union for two
main reasons: (a) many of them are highly questionable and (b) there is
more than enough material in the Imperial and Soviet periods awaiting
investigation to keep us going for many years to come.

However, there is one facet meriting comment, as evidenced by the
recently issued Azerbaijani stamp shown above. Together with practically
all the Central Asian republics, as well as Tuva and Yakutia, all those
areas speak languages in the closely-related Turki group. In the early
Soviet period, they were all written in the Arabic script which was poor
in vowels and caused great confusion. The Turki languages, on the other
hand, possess the distinctive property of vowel harmony. By the end of the
1920s, a Unified Latin Turki Alphabet was being introduced for all such
languages, but the process was stopped as one of the results of the
Great Purge, as I.V. Stalin feared the possible rise of Pan-Turki
nationalism. Each language was then given a separate version of the
Cyrillic alphabet and a specific dialect was made official for each
republic, which was as different as possible from those in the adjoining
republics. Iosif Vissarionovich was a monster, but no fool; he understood
perfectly the principle of "divide et impera" (divide and rule).

With the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Republic of Turkey has now
become the most influential country in the Turki-speaking world, with the
relationship between the Ottoman Turkish and Azerbaijani languages being
especially close, despite many borrowings by the latter from Russian. One
would therefore have thought that, in turning again to the Latin alphabet,
the Azerbaijanis would now have adopted the Ottoman Turkish version, for
the sake of consistency. The comparison above will show that that has not
been the case. The politicians in Azerbaijan have deliberately selected a
separate Latin version, included the letters "A" and "Q", which do not
exist in Ottoman Turkish, purely to consolidate their own power base.
Old Joe would have liked that.

To quote in full the French title to the present editorial: PLUS CA
CHANGE, PLUS C'EST LA MEME CHOSE (THE MORE IT CHANGES, THE MORE IT
REMAINS THE SAME THING).
*

CcOF+T F: PON EcmN C '

WI TH- CANAD)A

"CORRESPONDENCE WITH CANADA" is a regular
feature of this journal. Anyone having
interesting Russian mail to Canada is
invited to share it with our readers,
by forwarding a photograph or xerox
copy of the item, along with some
explanatory text to the Editor.

AN 1899 REGISTERED COVER FROM ST. PETERSBURG

by Dr. Andres Jorge Schlichter

e, 1,t 0qU 4X X /1 0

C/ ,a
L7 L ilU St. P6ters-
.. ... -

A;L 154 1

during WWI for understandable reasons.
during WWI for understandable reasons.

The item shown
here is from
the well-known
W. H. Schmalz
correspondence
of Berlin,
Ontario. He
was the
Secretary of
The
Economical
Fire
Insurance Co.
and an ethnic
German who,
among other
things,
carried on
philatelic
exchanges
with his
compatriots
in the Russian
Empire. The
name of his
town was
changed from
Berlin to
Kitchener

Quite a few interesting points may be gleaned from the registered cover
shown here with the back on the next page. The sender was an obvious
German, a medical doctor named Eugen Alexander Berg of Bol'shoi Prospect
No.80 in Peterburgskaya Storona, a suburb of the Russian capital. The
letter bears an unusual cancellation in grey-blue, reading: "S.
PETERBURG .1.4. XI. 18-99. GOR. TEL. KONT. N:V.l.", i.e. it was posted

V-f'
/, 0q

ScOL ot4,

AP~~~g~

jI

QQ:I >7)M 'F.MQS

I

43T

at the City
Telegraph.
Office No. 5. / // _- ,
From there it /
was handled by /,/ -
the St.
Petersburg
5th. Despatch
Office, with
canceller
No. 3 applied /
on the same /
day and in '''
almost the
same shade of
ink on the ..
back of the ..
cover. It may '
well have
been that the \ '
postal and ;:
telegraphic .'
functions
were housed
in the same
building. The
post office
apparently
added the
distinctive and unusual imperforate registration label, printed in black
on red paper and with a prominent curl outwards at the foot of the "R".
In his fine work "3AKA3HOE RECOMMANDIRT" published in May 1993, Harry
von Hofmann of Hamburg tells us that registration labels were first
introduced in the Russian Empire in January 1899. The closest example to
the one illustrated here is given on p.52 of his work under No.79, also
with the curved foot to the "R" and affixed on 26 Nov.1899 at the same
5th. Despatch Office, the name being given in French in one line as
"St. Petersbourg".

In the variant shown here under No.154, the town-name has been shifted to
the right and split into two lines: "St. Peters-/bourg", a "V" (=5)
being written in the space at left. Let us now compare the numberings and
dates:-
No.154, dated 4.XI.1899 (Andres Jorge Schlichter).
No.79, dated 26.XI.1899 (Harry von Hofmann).
Depending on the volume of registered mail then handled by the St.
Petersburg 5th. Despatch Office, one may speculate that the labels were
numbered from 1 to 500 and then started all over again. Can anyone prove
or disprove that assumption?

The rate paid was 30 kop., i.e. 20 kop. for a double-weight surface
letter going abroad, plus 10 kop. for the registration fee. Directed to
go via Bremerhafen, the letter was probably carried to New York by a ship
of the Norddeutscher Lloyd on the Bremen-New York line. It was handled by
the New York, N.Y. Regn. Division on 1 Dec.1899 N.S., which probably
applied the registration No.92141 on the front. It then passed through
Toronto on the 2nd., to arrive in Berlin, Ont. two days later. However,
what is the significance of the indistinct triangular marking below the
sender's address on the back and just tying the uppermost 10-kop. stamp?

*

POSTAGE STAMPS ISSUED BY THE
ZEMSTVOS

by Alex Artuchov
(Continued from No. 31)
FIRST EDITION (1900 1903)
Space between stamps 2.25 mm length of a horizontal row of 5
102.75 mm perforated 13.5 with small holes initially and large
holes from 1902, 34,500 stamps issued in 1900, 30,000 stamps
issued in 1902 and 20,000 stamps issued in 1903.

10. 2 kop. carmine red and rose 0.50

11. 3 kop. lilac and light lilac 0.50

SECOND EDITION (1904 1916)
Space between stamps 2.75 3.0 mm length of horizontal row of 5
105.5 mm perforated 13.25 with large holes and with small holes
from 1908 on.

PROVISIONAL ISSUE (Date ?)
Since the 10 kop. value was the one most frequently used as
witnessed by the need for the second edition in May of 1918 and
the 3 kop. value the stamp that was least used a 10 kop. value
was created by overprinting a 10 on the 3 kop. value.

FIRST EDITION (July 1, 1884)
Sheet of 78 in a 10 x 7 format with an additional 8 stamps on the
left side perpendicular to the remainder, transfer block of 2 types
situated horizontally and connected to the others at the centre
with a thin black line, the other 3 sides have 3 small guidelines
in 3 different colours, 6,000 stamps issued with one sheet having

a colour error.

1. 5 kop. black, pale brown, green and red
THE SHEET

I-

1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2

- 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2

~~1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2

2.00

THE TWO TYPES
Type 1 Nick in the thick frameline on the right over the the
letters YVb of Yb3pA .
Type 2 Short horizontal line connected to the centre of the
letter C of IOBCK .

Type 1
I

^ I"

Type 2

C)

SECOND EDITION (January, 1887)
This is the sheet of the first edition with the colour error.
Single copies only are known and only 1 copy is known used.

PLATE FLAWS
A lack of material in multiples has led to no types being
identified for the second edition. From a block of 2 x 5 depicted
below, with stamps identified 1 10, a number of constant plate
flaws considered to be constant and probably types have been found.

1 2 3 4 5
6 7 8 9 10

Stamp 6 Red dot on the right side of the upper half of the
vertical stroke of the letter b of rTB .
Stamp 7 Red dot above curved part of the same letter.
Stamp 9 Large spot of colour under the letter 5 of 3EMCK A
and a series of other spots extending downwards across
the stamp and down the letter K of the word KOn .
Stamp 10- Red spot attached to the right leg of the letter K and
a red dot under the letter n of KO11.

1880
Similar to proceeding issue but with larger lettering in
inscription, lithographed on white paper 0.05 mm thick, white gum,
sheet of 12 x 8 with a transfer block of 3 x 3 and 9 types which
are unevenly distributed on the sheet, imperforate, 15,888 stamps
printed.

6. 5 kop. green 2.00

THE NINE TYPES
A lack of material in large multiples has resulted in not all
types being identified. It is only a guess as to whether plate
listed below are actually Types 3 and 4.

Type 2 A tiny green dot almost directly under the tail of top
right bird in the lower half of the coat of arms about
1 mm under it, white scratch extending from left bottom
5 to right bottom 5 across several places on the lower

Type 3

Type 1

outline of the shield.
Type 3(?) A horizontal background line to the left of the tower
is missing.
Type 4(?) Green dot over the right vertical stroke of the letter
n of IOrTA .
Type 6 Horizontal line of background to the right of the tower
is missing.
Type 7 Green dot outside of left outer frameline to the left of
the 5 in the left bottom corner.
Type 8 Two green dots inside of letter 0 of nOrTA .
THE SHEET

THE TYPES
Although neither a transfer block nor the types are mentioned by
Schmidt, a study of the stamps has revealed some constant plate
characteristics. A lack of multiples has prevented the
identification of of the transfer block and the position of the

types within it.

Type A Spot of colour on thick circle outline in top left corner.
Type B Spot of colour on thin circle outline under 5 in left
bottom corner.
Type C Several spots between thick and thin circle outlines above
5 in right bottom corner.
Type D Break in thin outer circle outline above 5 in the top left
corner. Small break in the thick centre oval outline above
the letters 3E.

Lokhvitsa is located in the north central section of the province
of Poltava. In 1900, its population was 4,000.

This district is located between the rich black earth area to the
north and the coal mining district to the south on a sparsely
wooded portion of the steppes. The area was favoured in the 15th
century by nomadic gypsies moving westward into what was to later
become Hungary.

Lokhvitsa issued a very substantial quantity stamps between 1899
and 1916.

1899 (September, 2)
20 x 22.25 mm lithographed in 2 colours on white paper 0.0.09 mm
thick, brownish yellow gum, perforated 11.5, the stamps were
supplied by the newspaper KC4fl KPA- (Southern Region) and
printed by Silberberg in Kharkov, of the 5,000 copies printed only
single stamps are known, in 1909 70 copies of the stamp were found
in the Zemstvo Offices and were invalidated by overprinting them
with a circular official seal [EcqATb JIOXBUPRO SFJ3MKO y PAEbl "
and with ~DJ IMAKETOBb in the centre (Seal of the Lokhvitsa
Zemstvo District and For Packages in the centre), these 70 stamps
were strung on a thread and all have a small hole in them.

THE FIVE TYPES
Type 1 Small dent in NW corner frame.
Type 2 Break in letter T of nHOTA
Type 3 Does not seem to display any particular flaws.
Type 4 Short line inside letter C of 3EMCK.
Type 5 Break in left inner frameline under X of DXB=, .

16

(Centlumed l No. .~3)

60.00

TIKHON NIKOLAEVICH KULIKOVSKY-

ROMANOFF

Tikhon Nikolaevich Kulikovsky -Romanoff died on April 8/93 at the age of 75. He was not a philatelist
but, was a valued friend and supporter of the Post-Rider who was responsible for the many bear-motif
illustrations that continue to appear in this publication to this day.

The Toronto media described Tikhon Nikolaevich an the last direct descendant of the Tsar. Tikhon
Nikolaevich's mother, the Grand Duchess Olga was the Tsar's youngest sister.

Tikhon Nikolaevich was born in the turbulent year of 1917. The Grand Duchess, Colonel Nikolai
Kulikovsky and sons Gleb and Tikhon fled south to the Black Sea, seeking safe refuge abroad. The
swelling masses of White reguges made it next to impossible to find roon aboard overcrowded ships.
Through fortuitous circumstances however, a British captain that had previously commanded a vessel
carrying the Russian Royal Family recognized the Grand Duchess and immediately took her and her
family aboard.

The Kulikovskys sailed to Denmark where they joined Maria Feodorovna the Dowager Empress, a
Danish Princess. They stayed at the Danish Court throughout the duration of the Second World War and
arrived in Canada in 1948.

Colonel Kulikovsky died in 1958 and the Grand Duchess in 1960. From boyhood, I vividly recall my
grandmother pointing out the Grand Duchess as she came out of church and describing the obligatory
etiquette in the presence of royalty. The Grand Duchess was highly regarded and to this day is very
fondly remembered by Toronto's Russian community. One of the best known and most revealing
stories about the Grand Duchess occurred when she was invited aboard the Royal Yacht Brittania by
Queen Elizabeth II who was visiting Toronto. The Kulikovskys were farming and working the soil with
virtually their hands at the time in the suburb of Mississauga. The Grand Duchess proceeded to see her
cousin the Queen in whatever she had and whatever she could muster at the time. When later asked about
her visit and what she wore; the Grand Duchess said that she went as she could and as she now was.

I met Tikhon Nikolaevich through my mother a longtime college at the provincial Ministry of
Transportation. He was described as having the physical stature of Alexander III and very recognizably a
Romanoff. And indeed he was.

Tikhon Nikolaevich inherited his mother's artistic abilities. He was revered by his co-workers for his
numerous cartoons depicting the numerous side of their office life. It was through this knowledge that I
approached Tikhon Nikolaevich who very gratiously obliged us with the many illustrations that started to
appear in the early issues of the Post-Rider.

I feel very priviledged to have spent time with Tikhon Nikolaevich, to have have his original sketches in
my possession, to have his hand written political manifestos and to have heard first hand, stories of the
Russian Royal Family.

Tikhon Nikolaevich's funeral was the largest Russian Orthodox funeral that I have ever attended. When I
observed the people present, it was very clear. They hadn't gathered to bury a Romanoff but, like me
they came to say a sad farewell to a person who had in his own manner touched each and every one of us
somewhere along the way.

OBITUARIES

Two of the leading experts in the stamps and postal history of the
Carpatho-Ukraine have recently passed away within days of each other.
The details are as follow:-

Dr. Ing. SIMADY Bl4a, who was well-known to CSRP readers,
died in Szeged, Hungary on 19 May 1993 at the age of 62,
presumably from a brain tumour. He was the President of
S..MABEOSZ, the Federation of Hungarian Stamp Collectors and
had written authoritative works on Hungarian postal
stationery, as well as on the stamps and postal history
of the Carpatho-Ukraine. He regularly obtained large
vermeil and gold medals at international philatelic
Exhibitions. Your editor knew him personally and found
him to be extremely helpful at all times. His presence in
our fields will be sadly missed and he left us all too
early. Our deep sympathy goes out to his family.

MIROSLAV BLAHA, also familiar to CSRP members, left this
world at Zadbeh in Moravia, Czech Republic on 28 May 1993
at the age of 72. The son of a Czech official who spent
twelve years in Uzhorod, he was an active investigator in
Sthe philately of the Carpatho-Ukraine practically up to
., (6 the time of his death. He visited the province almost
S annually to further his researches, about which he wrote
S1 extensively for many years. Most collectors of the
Carpatho-Ukraine, including Ivan Bulat and your editor,
knew him personally and found him to be a kindly and
very painstaking philatelist. He built up one of the best
collections in existence and we understand that it has
been donated to the Postal Museum in Prague. His passing
is a great loss to us all and our sincere condolences are
extended to his family.

OLEG FABERGE, the son of Agathon Faberge, died in Helsinki, Finland
towards the end of April 1993 at the age of 69, just days before the
appearance of his 450-page book in colour about "The Zemstvo Post of
Russia" in A4 format (roughly legal size). He had inherited the enormous
estate of his father and showed a large portion of his Zemstvo collection
at the "FINLANDIA '88" World Philatelic Exhibition. He had previously
written about Zemstvos in "The London Philatelist", organ of The Royal
Philatelic Society, London. Among other areas of collecting, he also
possessed an important holding of the Postmaster Provisionals of the
early Soviet period.

The text of the Zemstvo book mentioned above is in English, with
introductions in Finnish, English and Russian. It may be ordered as a
fitting tribute to his memory from OY FINLANDIA 88 AB, PL 257, SF-00101
HELSINKI, Finland for FIM 750,- plus postage and packing (overseas
orders are NOT subject to the Finnish VAT of 22%!).
*
SPECIAL NOTES:
Readers are reminded that all coordinators of the Society are fully
engaged in earning their livings and thus do not have time to answer
individual requests or queries. Where such questions are of general
interest to the readership, they will be taken up in subsequent issues
of "The Post-Rider". Please bear with us!
The views expressed in the articles contained in this issue of "The Post-
Rider" are those of the respective authors and not necessarily those of
the Society or its coordinators.

FILATELISTYCZNA E

> >
REPORT ON "POLSKA''93" -

0- by Andrew Cronin
o
| ^^s (o

EXHIBITION

I '

Your editor was one of the two Canadian commissioners for this
important international philatelic exhibition, held at Poznan, the
capital of Wielkopolska (Western Poland) on 7-16 May 1993. The other
Canadian commissioner was Piotr Madej, while Dr. Mieczys3aw Kamienski
was the Canadian judge on the international jury; all of us were from
Toronto. The USA was the only other country with two commissioners:
Seymour Banchik of Rockaway Park, N.Y. and CSRP subscriber Dr. James
Mazepa of Oak Park, Illinois; it was a great pleasure to be working
with those two fine gentlemen. It is a philatelic fact of life that no
international exhibition can be successful without notable American
participation and the USA came in strongly with 58 exhibits.

Our Polish hosts put their best foot forward to make this a very
successful exhibition, both philatelically and socially, the entire
cost of approx. US $4 millions being borne by the Ministry of
Communications. They expected to have a deficit of about 20%. The show
was opened by His Excellency Lech Walesa, the President of the Polish
Republic; he proved to be a down-to-earth and approachable person. The
main flaw was that the lighting was poor in some of the exhibition halls,
which were the largest available in the country.

The Poles are a most hospitable and polite people and those qualities
are evident in their language. It is clear that Poland is making great
strides towards privatization, with many small business springing up
everywhere. Your editor had useful and fruitful discussions with the
strong delegation from Russia: D.R. Galishnikov, Professor A.S. Ilyushin,
N.F. Mandrovskii, L.Ya. Mel'nikov, V.V. Pritula and A.V. Strygin;
Vsevolod Furman from Odessa (the only Ukrainian present, with nobody
noticed from the Western Ukraine; a great disappointment); Algis Preiksa,
the Lithuanian commissioner and his charming wife; our contributor
Vygintas Bubnys of Vilnius and Ricardas Vainora of Kaunas; the Hungarian
commissioner JOZSA Mihaly; the Bulgarians Ivan Kostov (judge), Dr. Yordan
Kozarev (commissioner) and Khristo Nikolchev; the Czechs Lumir Brendl
(judge) and Ing. Jan Karasek (commissioner); the Mongolian postal
representative Galbadrakhyn Radnabazar, who spoke excellent Russian and
last but not least, our affable CSRP member G.D. Mehrtens of Bremen, who
arrived for the final day of the show and noticed important items in the
official exhibit of Russia from the A.S. Popov Museum in St. Petersburg.

It may be seen from the foregoing that participation from Russia was
strong, in spite of the current economic situation there. In addition
to the international bourse, there was also a special section where
local collectors and dealers offered a surprisingly wide range of
excellent material to all comers at international price levels. Among
the notable items of interest in our spheres were the following:-

(a) A.S. Popov Museum of Communications in St. Petersburg. Essays of
Russia No.l, an unused pair of No.l with part gum, a single and a pair
used on letters, No.4 used on two letters, one of them with a "dots"
postmark on a postal stationery envelope.

(b) Armenia: Avedis Ketchian of Buenos Aires, Argentina showed five pre-
adhesive letters without postal markings sent in the 1812-1818 period
and had a truly excellent showing of covers and money orders of the
Dashnak Republic, as well as the subsequent early Soviet epoch, sent
from small offices. Professor Henri Siranyan of Valence, France had five
pre-stamp letters of the 1810-1825 period, again without postal markings
and a rare letter to Moscow with a two-line unframed marking reading:
ECHMYADZHIN / 10 sentya. 1858 god, as well as many Soviet Armenian
stamps postally used, including on money orders. That exhibit was much
underrated in the opinion of your editor.

(c) Zemstvos: CSRP member Anatoly Kovaleff of Adelaide, South Australia
had enhanced his exhibit by including extensive plating studies and
received a well-deserved large vermeil medal.

(d) In the F.I.P. Championship Class, L.Ya. Mel'nikov -----
of Moscow showed colour proofs, OBRAZETS punches and
imperf-between varieties of Soviet airmail issues of
the early 1930s, including the 80-kop. Civil Aviation
Decennial in a horizontal pair imperf-between
postally used on cover from Smolensk 19.1.34(?), the
very rare 50-kop. 1932 International Polar Year stamp ----
used with the comb perforation 10:12, a complete set of the Chelyuskin
essays in smaller format and in different colours from the issued set,
the Moscow-San Francisco 1 r. surcharge on card and cover from Moscow
3.8.35, bearing the postponed flight cachet, etc etc (phew!).

(e) In his Hungarian pre-stamp letters 1700-1850, Stephan FrAter of the
USA had the rare red UNGHVAR upright oval marking of 1814 on an item to
Pest, while in the FIP Championship Class, Dr. LIPPAI Pal of Hungary
had some items from Beregszasz and Ungvar in the Carpatho-Ukraine in
his exhibit of the Austrian Posts in Hungary 1850-1867.

(g) N.F. Mandrovskii, formerly of Tallinn but now in Moscow, had many
essays and specimens of the early Soviet period, including the 70r. error
of 1922, but in an IMPERF. pane, of which only ten examples are known,
all of them in Russian collections.

(h) Arkadii Pevzner of Moscow had a well-researched study of the Soviet
definitive 4th. to 13th. issues, while Tom Chastang of the USA
obviously had a great deal of fun putting together his postal history of
the 3rd. Soviet definitive.

(i) Moshe Shmuely of Israel had a magnificent display of the Soviet posts
in Western Belorussia and the Western Ukraine 1939-1941, with many usages
of the former Polish cancellers and mostly addressed to Palestine. That
exhibit was much underrated in the opinion of your editor.

(j) Our subscriber Per-Anders Erixon of Sweden was originally slated to
show 8 frames of Zemstvos but exhibited instead 6 frames of Russia, for
which he obtained a well-deserved gold medal.

(k) Tong How Teo of Singapore not only included the Mongolian 19th.
century native pre-stamp cover with a horse's hoof in each corner
originally in the B8rje Wallberg collection, but yet another FOUR
examples from the same period, all properly identified and translated!
He also had early and probably unique gems of the Russian post office in
Urga, which may have come from the Dr. E.M. Tolman collection.

(1) Last, but not least, Vygintas Bubnys of Lithuania had a superb
exhibit of the postal history of Vilnius/Wilno, with many rare items in
the pre-stamp and first Soviet period of January-April 1919.

In closing, hearty thanks are also due to the Organising Committee of
"POLSKA '93" for producing three informative bulletins and a magnificent
catalogue full of seminal articles on Polish philately, including in our
spheres of interest and written by such notable authorities as Ing.
Zbigniew Mikulski, Janusz Zbigniew Piekut and Antoni Karwacki.
*

OBSERVATIONS ON THE POSTAL RATES IN THE UKRAINE DURING 1918 1920

by Alexander EpStein

A competent selection of postal history materials from the period of the
Civil War in the Ukraine requires a good knowledge of the postal rates
that were in force there during those violent years, when the power
passed repeatedly through many hands and different ways in the various
regions of the country: the nationalist Ukrainian People's Republic under
the Central Rada government, Soviet republics (no less than three!), the
Central Rada government again, followed by the "Ukrayins'ka Derzhava"
(Ukrainian State) under Hetman P. Skoropads'kyj (both during the German
and Austro-Hungarian occupation of the Ukraine in 1918), then the
People's Republic under the Directory Government (V. Vynnychenko and
S. Petlyura), the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic during the first
half of 1919, occupation by the White Russian forces under General
Denikin, the Soviet republic again, the Polish invasion in the summer of
1920 with a short-lived restoration of the national government under S.
Petlyura and the final establishment of Soviet power which lasted for
71 years.

The postal service basically did not interrupt its functions during
those years, but the various authorities introduced their own postal
rates in the areas under their jurisdiction. The postal rates in force
under the government of Skoropads'kyj were first disclosed briefly in
1919 by the German magazine "Illustriertes Briefmarken-Journal" and
later repeated by K. Svenson in the supplement to his Ukraine Handbook
(ref. 1) and in the Ukraine Catalogue by Dr. R. Seichter (ref. 2).
However, the information given by them was neither complete nor really
precise. A recent publication by A. Ivakhno (ref. 3) based on archival
documents has filled the gaps concerning these rates.

The present author will now review the postal rates in force in the
Ukraine from 1918 to 1920 and will dwell on some questions that still
seem to be open up to now. A week before proclaiming the full
independence of the Ukraine from Soviet Russia, the Central Rada
government introduced new inland postal rates that replaced the current
tariffs of Russia as of 15 January 1918. The new rates were as follow:-
(hereunder only some of the basic rates are quoted for the commonest
categories of mail; those interested in more detailed information are
kindly directed to the references 3 to 5)

Letters: Local, for each 15 g. or fraction 20 kop.
Intercity, for each 15 g. or fraction 25 kop.

Registration fee 25 kop.

Money Orders by post: up to 25 roubles 25 kop.
above 25 r. and up to 100 r.(*) 75 kop.
for each further 100 r. or fraction 75 kop.

Money Orders by telegraph: up to 500 roubles +3 r.
above 500 roubles +4 r.
(*) In the original version of these rates, this line read:
"above 25 roubles and up to 50 roubles 50 kop."
This error was later corrected, but one sometimes finds money order
cards franked according to the erroneous rate.

Initially, the rates cited above were short-lived, since the Reds had
already occupied Kiev on 26 January and, shortly afterwards, almost the
whole of the Ukraine except for its extreme western parts (what is meant
of course is the Ukraine as a part of the former Russian Empire;
Galicia is outside the scope of this paper). In the areas under Soviet
rule, the postal rates of Russia introduced by the Provisional
Government in 15 August 1917 for inland mail and 1 September 1917 for
foreign mail continued to be in force until the end of February 1918.

A postcard sent from Khar'kov (then the capital of the Soviet Ukraine)
on 15 January 1918 to Volmar, Livonia province is shown in Fig.l on the
next page. This card is franked in accordance with the 5-kop. rate.
Another card from Khar'kov, sent to Moscow on 21 March and franked
according to the new 20-kop. rate, is shown in Fig.2. At that time,
after the Soviet Ukrainian government had moved to Kiev and later to
Ekaterinoslav, Khar'kov became the centre of yet another Soviet
republic on Ukrainian soil, the Donets-Krivoi Rog ("Donetsko-
Krivorozhskaya") Republic, which had initially declared itself to be a
part of Soviet Russia. The third example, in Fig.3, shows a registered
cover to Petrograd, posted at Odessa on 23 January 1918 and franked in
accordance with the 35-kop. rate. Until it was occupied by the Germans
in March 1918, the Odessa area was also an autonomous territory
governed by a local Soviet authority which did not submit to the
Soviet Ukrainian government.

The German invasion of the Ukraine, which took place after signing a
treaty with the Central Rada at Brest-Litovsk (not to be confused with
the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk) put an end to the Soviet regime
throughout the Ukraine by the end of April 1918. The postal rates of
the Ukraine of 15 January 1918 were restored as the Central Rada
authorities took over the power in the areas freed from the Bolsheviks.
These rates were also in force after the Central Rada government had

been superseded by that under Hetman Skoropads'kyj and when Ukrainian
issues were put on sale: the shahiv set, as well as Russian stamps
and postal stationery overprinted with tridents.

Before the issue of the national postage stamps, mail was franked
exclusively with Imperial adhesives and postal stationery: those of
the Arms issue, less frequently with the Romanov Jubilee and War
Charity stamps, as well as Postal Savings Bank stamps in the values of
1, 5 and 10 kop., which were legally permitted for postage. After 1st.
October 1918, Imperial stamps without trident overprints were declared
invalid, although the Savings Bank stamps and at least one of the
Romanov issue, that with the face value of 3 roubles, continued to be
used by some post offices for franking money order and parcel cards.

The stationery
postcard in 3 \a.
Fig.4 was sent .
from Poltava to'
Kiev on 19 Sep. '
1918. Besides
the imprinted VL ^ fC?
5 kop., its .
franking
consists of a .
pair of 2-kop.
Arms with the '
Poltava I 7-u;^
trident and an
unoverprinted .
1 kop. Postal
Savings stamp
to make up the .
required fee .. /7, p
of 10 kop. for A2-- *
an ordinary 3
postcard in Bap-
accordance .o...- ..
with the
Ukrainian *eo'
postal rates
of 15 January
1918 (see the
previous
page).
The registered
letter shown '
here in Fig.5
and sent from
Bar 2 Nov.1918--.
to Vinnitsa is
franked/
according to -
the above- -
mentioned
rates with a \
single 50-kop. .
Arms bearing
the Podolia I ./ .
trident. S

The total
franking of
7r. 15k. on
the parcel
card here sent
from
Ekaterinoslav
on 19 November
1918 includes,
together with
a Ir. Arms
bearing an
Ekaterinoslav
II trident, a
10k. Arms with
Ekaterinoslav I
trident and a
10-shahiv
value, also a
horizontal
pair of 3r.
Romanovs
without a
trident over-
print (Fig.6).
EDITORIAL
COMMENT:
Leonard, did
you just fall
down in a
dead faint?

The postal
rates of
15 January
had been
introduced
for inland
mail only
but, on the
basis of
corresponding
postal
conventions,
they were
applied also
to foreign
mail going
to Germany
and Austria-
Hungary and
via the
latter to
some other
countries
too, as well
as to Soviet
Russia. The
ordinary
letter in
Fig.7, with

a single 50-shahiv stamp covering the 25-kop. rate was sent on 18 Oct.
1918 from Berezna, Chernigov province to the USA but was not
delivered, as America had already been in a state of war with Germany
for several months.

However, there remain unclear some aspects of mail exchange with some
neighbours of the Ukraine, where anti-Bolshevik forces were in power
(the Don region, Kuban and the Crimea). Fig.8 shows a 5-kop stationery
postcard, revalued to 10 kop. by a trident overprint at Poltava. The
card had been sent from Romny, Poltava province 24 August 1918 to
Sudak in the Crimea, where it arrived on 8 October, i.e. six weeks
later and thus pointing to an interruption in the postal service at
some time during September. Notwithstanding the fact that the card had
been revalued and prepaid in strict accordance with the current
Ukrainian rate, there is an oval "to pay" marking struck at Feodosiya
near Sudak and with a manuscript figure "10". It may have been that the
postal authorities did not recognize the postcard revaluation made in
the Ukraine, or was there some other reason for postage due?

On the other hand, Figs. 9 & 10 show postcards sent in the reverse
direction, i.e. from the Crimea to the Ukraine. The first one, an
ordinary postcard franked with an Imperial 7-kop. Arms surcharged 10k.
had been sent from Evpatoriya on 2 July 1918 to Khar'kov, where it
arrived safely four days later. The second, registered postcard had
been posted in Simferopol' on 5 October and arrived in Kiev on 9 Oct.,
i.e. again four days later, which seems to have been a normal term of
delivery in those days. There is a note in the message, saying: "the
post is already functioning", indicating that there had been an
interruption shortly before. Both postcards were prepaid in accordance
with the postal rates then in force in the Crimea, which were similar
to those in the Ukraine, without any demand "to pay".

The lack of understanding becomes more evident when one looks at the
postal sending shown in Fig.11. That postcard was sent in October 1918
from Rostov-on-Don to Kiev. Although the normal postal rate for an
ordinary postcard in the Don Republic was the same as in the Ukraine
at that time, i.e. 10 kop., the card had been prepaid at the double
rate. The franking consists of an unoverprinted Imperial 10-kop. Arms
and a 10-kop./7-kop. stamp with the Odessa II trident. Some questions
arise here too. Was the double rate legally envisaged for postal
sending between the Don Republic and the Ukraine by a special postal
convention? Was half of this rate to be prepaid by a Ukrainian postage
stamp, which was otherwise not valid in the Don territory? Were
postage stamps of the Ukraine legally sold over the postal counters in
Rostov-on-Don?

Finally, one more example that adds fuel to the fire (Fig.12). It shows
the back of a cover sent from Khar'kov, probably at the end of
November or the beginning of December (the date on the postmarks is
illegible) and arriving in Rostov-on-Don on 4 December 1918. The
franking consists of several stamps with the Khar'kov I trident and
totalling 70 kop., i.e. twice the rate for an ordinary letter at the
new Ukrainian rates (see later). Although the front of the cover is
missing, it was certainly not a registered letter, the minimum
franking for which would have been 85 kop. But was this a case of a
double rate again, or simply an overweight letter? Perhaps CSRP
readers can provide us with some more examples of such mail.

The postal rates in the Ukraine were raised again as of 15 November
1918:-

Fig.13 shows a local postcard from Kiev cancelled on 18 November 1918.
The total franking of 20k. consists of the imprinted 5-kop. die revalued
to 10 kop. by a Kiev III postal stationery trident and a pair of 5-kop.
Arms with the Kiev II trident. A registered cover sent on 3 February
1919 from Kamenets-Podol'sk to Kiev (where it arrived on 15 March) is
shown in Fig.14. The stationery envelope with an imprinted 7-kop. die
(not considered in making up the rate) is franked with a vertical pair
of the 35-kop. and a single 15-kop. Arms stamps, both with the Podolia
XIa trident.

In January 1919, one more Ukrainian stamp, namely with a face value of
20 hryven' (1 hryvnya = 0.5 roubles) was released in the Volhynia and
Podolia provinces
IL'l *1 '. [ under the
S1 .Directory
-government. An
1:- -,'.r .example of the
L 1'. 0.i; L ": early use of this
:; stamp is shown
.. here in Fig.15. A
i telegraphic money
i .. "..... order form for
,-
---... -....---. Zhitomir on 27th.
i. February 1919,
Swas franked in
: in .......... .. r .. .. ....... ; ...... w as franked in
|ln:,.,p, ..*..-. mPcC n ,,,!.;.; ..... accordance with
: the rates of 15th.
ic.: i November with a
pair of 20-hryven'
L
-. -*.. -,, with a 7r. and Ir.
L o y ., '.; 1; ,.-_ Arms stamps, both
S.with the
... . ... Zhitomir I
S:,';;' trident, with a
-* total fee paid of
i ,^- ,,28 roubles.
n M ..EDITORIAL COMMENT:
51 / The 20-hryven'
1o...l. I! "Ukrayins'ka

The withdrawal of German and Austrian troops from the Ukraine began in
December 1918 after the defeat of the Triple Alliance countries in WWI.
Following on their heels, the Red Army of Soviet Russia entered the
Ukraine, after having denounced the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. The
resistance of the Ukrainian national troops under the Directory
government that had replaced the regime of Hetman Skoropads'kyj could
not deter the Reds and, by the end of spring 1919, the major part of
the Ukraine had become the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic again.
Only in parts of the Volhynia and Podolia provinces did the Directory
under S. Petlyura retain its authority and, in those areas, the
Ukrainian postal rates of 15 November 1918 continued to be in force.

As for the Soviet Ukraine, it is known that, during the period of its
existence, i.e. until the autumn of 1919, the inland postal rates of
Soviet Russia (RSFSR) were applied there. Those rates included free
postage for ordinary postcards and letters up to 15 grammes (approx.
oz.). The other rates were:-

Imperial stamps and stationery without trident overprints were now put
on sale again, being used for postage concurrently with Ukrainian
stamps. Later on, the Soviet 35 & 70k. stamps of the "Chainbreaker"
issue were added However, the exact date of introduction of these
rates in the Soviet Ukraine (valid in the RSFSR from 15 September 1918,
with free postage as of 1 January 1919) still remains uncertain. In an
official journal of the Soviet Ukrainian Postal Administration (6),
there is a note about the change in the postal rates for parcels as of
15 July 1919 (almost a two-month delay relative to the same step in the
RSFSR), which is explained by the fact that the Ukrainian SSR had at
that time its own virtually independent postal administration: the
People's Commissariat of Posts and Telegraphs. That note contains a
reference to some postal rates of 8 February 1919. That date was very
likely the day when the Soviet postal rates were introduced in the
Ukraine. Some early examples of those rates are in Figs. 16 to 18.

SA fragment of a
Stelegraphic
200r. sent from
/' "-Z A Chernigov on
S12 Feb.1919 is
N shown in Fig.16.
/ ^ It is franked-
with a 5r.Arms
with the
Sh Chernigov II
trident,another
5r.Arms with the
Kiev II trident
^ o and, on the back,
32 Fig. 16. ;4.

But what were the rates in -
force in the parts of the 12 '
Ukraine under the Soviets L'
before the introduction of / oo .
the postal rates of Soviet
Russia, i.e. from about the I'. 7 67
-end of December 1918 to the FT c t .
beginning of February 1919? .
Some examples are shown
here in Figs. 19 to 21.
Fig.19 represents the back
of a registered letter
posted in Khar'kov on llth.
Jan.1919, arriving in B O C H -
Moscow on the 21st. The ..
total franking, consisting i -
of a 50k.Arms with
Khar'kov I trident, plus
20 & 50-shahiv Ukrainian
stamps (=35k.), still 4,c,1 J
corresponds to the .- ..
Ukrainian rates of 15.11.18 -

'V '
p~v~ ~. .

___
~-s; T;ii

~
1

~~: 8Y ~2cd ~

j.:

J
o~i~ ~S~F~
'i
P
;~
i

t;

I

The next reg'd letter from Khar'kov to Moscow (see Fig.20 on the
previous page) was sent somewhat later. Unfortunately, the postmark of
Khar'kov on the front of the cover is very indistinct; it is only
possible to ascertain that the date lies somewhere in the twenties of
January and it arrived in Moscow on 5 February, where the stamps on the
back were cancelled. The total franking of 4 x 15k.Arms with Khar'kov I
trident and 3 x 20 shahiv amounts to 90 kop. It is very unlikely that
it was a simple overpayment of the 85-kop. rate (5 kop.). As the letter
enclosed 46 postage stamps per the notation at bottom right on the
front of the cover, it would rather have been an overweight article. In
that case, the franking can be deciphered as 2 x 30k. for the first two
weight steps, plus 30 kop. for the registration fee, thus corresponding
to the foreign postal rates of the RSFSR as of 10 March 1918 (see above).
Finally, there is one
More registered letter,
sent from Volchansk,
Khar'kov province on
S29 January 1919 to
Moscow (see Fig.21).
Srn l The letter was prepaid
O with a ir.Arms with the
pot.a Khar 'kov III trident
and a 10-shahiv stamp,
thus totalling Ir. 5k.,
i.e. the rate that had
been in effect in the
Soviet Ukraine before
the German occupation!
It seems that, within
this short period, the
SBonaHcei. local postal
alpbfoCri n f19.r. authorities either
r acted as they thought
best, or under some
temporary instructions
Fig. 21. received from the local
powers that be.

With regard to the Ukraine in the first quarter of 1919, there is one
more unclear point, namely the postal rates in the Odessa area, which
was occupied by the Allies of the Entente, principally the French,
until the beginning of 1919, after the withdrawal of the Austro-
Hungarian and German troops. The only sending from this area and period
known to the present author is an ordinary local postcard, mailed in
Odessa on 7th. March. The franking of this postal stationery item
includes, in addition to the imprinted die revalued to 10k. by an Odessa
postal stationery trident, a strip of three unoverprinted 3-kop. Arms,
a 1-kop. Arms with Odessa III trident and a 10-shahiv stamp, to total
25 kop. As has been mentioned previously, the corresponding postal rate
in the parts of the Ukraine under the Directory government was 20 kop.,
while postage was free in the Soviet regions. Was there a special local
postal rate for the Odessa area in the first few months of 1919?
Again, more postal evidence is needed.

As of the spring of 1919, some areas in the south-east of the Ukraine
were occupied by the White or so-called Voluntary Army(Dobrovol'cheskaya
Armiya) under General Denikin. In those rates, the post offices applied
the postal rates introduced by the Postal & Telegraphic Department of
the Voluntary Army HQ in January 1919. Those rates were fixed as being

five times as much as the domestic postal rates that had been in force
in Russia at the beginning of WWI, i.e.:-

Printed matter: Local, up to 1 lot in weight (12.794g.) 5 kop.
for every further 8 lots or fraction 10 kop.
Intercity, for every 4 lots or fraction 10 kop.
Postcards :15 kop.
Letters : Local 15 kop.
Intercity, per lot or fraction 35 kop.
Registration fee 35 kop.
There is no information available for the money order rates.

The so-called Mariupol' issue is connected precisely with these rates.
That set of surcharges was released in Mariupol' in March 1919, i.e.
during the first occupation of that town by the Volunteer Army and
consisted not only of two adhesives: the 10 and 50 shahiv stamps of
the Ukraine surcharged with the new values 35k. and 70k. respectively,
but also of stationery postcards bearing, in addition to the initial
trident postal stationery overprints of Ekaterinoslav with a
revaluation to 10 kop., a further 15-kop. surcharge. These postcards
are erroneously listed under the Ukraine proper in the catalogues.

In the course of time, these rates were extended to new areas, as the
White forces advanced deep into the Ukraine. As of June 1919, the
postal rates in the regions under White control were raised, but
because ,of lack of information, the basic rates quoted hereunder are
tentative:-

By September 1919, the greater part of the Ukraine had been occupied
by the Volunteer Army. The Reds held their positions only in the
north-east of the Ukraine (parts of the Chernigov and Volhynia
provinces), while the national forces under Petlyura retained control
over parts of the Podolia and Volhynia provinces, the extreme western
parts of Volhynia being occupied by the Poles. In the areas occupied
by the Denikin forces, only Imperial stamps and those of the
"Edinaya Rossiya" issue were officially permitted for postage. A local
registered letter posted in Odessa on 10 November 1919 and franked
with "Edinaya Rossiya" stamps to make up the Ir. 20k. rate is shown in
Fig.22 on the next page. Ukrainian stamps with face values in kopeks
were declared invalid for postage and letters prepaid with such issues
were considered as unpaid, with all the ensuing consequences. However,
that did not apply to Ukrainian stamps with face values in roubles;
they remained temporarily in use because of the shortage of high face-
value postage stamps. A money order card, where the 2% rate has been
met partly with Ir. Arms stamps bearing the Kiev II trident, is shown
in Eig.23 on the next page.

Moreover, as some post offices were short of stamps with face values
in kopeks, they also applied Ukrainian stamps in the kopek values as
well, especially for franking money order and parcel cards. Fig.24 on

the previous page depicts the front of a telegraphic money order card
sent from Troitskoe, Kherson province on 14 Oct.1919 to Pokrovskoe,
Ekaterinoslav province, where it was received only on 22nd. November.
The rate of 115r. for transferring 5000r. was prepaid with Ukrainian
stamps only: 31 x 3r. 50k. Arms with Odessa Vd trident, 6 x Ir. Arms
with Odessa Vd trident and a single 50k. Arms with Odessa III trident.

In November 1919, a counter-offensive by the Red Army began in the
Ukraine. By February/March 1920, the Soviet regime was reestablished
throughout almost the whole of the Ukraine, except for the western
parts occupied by the Poles. During the winter of 1919-1920, the new
Soviet postal rates introduced in the RSFSR as of 1/5 September 1919
were applied in the Ukraine as well:-

Printed matter: Local & Intercity, per lot (12.794g.) 10 kop.
with a minimum of 50 kop.
Ordinary postcards and letters up to 15g. (roughly h oz.) free
Ordinary letters above 15g.: for every further 30g. or fraction 1 r.
Registered postcards 3r. or 4 r.(?)
Registered letters up to 15g.: Ir. per letter plus 3r.regn. fee=4 r.
above 15g.: Ir. per further 30g.+regn.fee of 3 r.
Money orders by post: for every 100r. or fraction 1 r.
with a minimum of 3 r.
Money orders by telegraph: +8 r.

The postal rates in the Ukrainian SSR were raised again in the spring
of 1920. These rates, introduced in Russia on 5/10 March, were:-

Printed matter: Local & Intercity, per lot (12.794g.) 50 kop.
with a minimum of 1 r.
Ordinary postcards and letters up to 15g. (roughly h oz.) free
Ordinary letters above 15g.: for every further 30g. or fraction 5 r.
Registered postcards and letters up to 15g.: 10 r.
Registered letters above 15g.: 5r. per further 30g.+regn.fee of 5 r.
Money orders by post: for every 100r. or fraction 2 r.
with a minimum of 10 r.
Money orders by telegraph: +60 r.

It should be mentioned that, although the Soviet Ukraine did not now
have its own postal administration as its postal service was directed
from Moscow, the postal rates were introduced at the local level with
some delay, depending upon a corresponding order given by a
provincial postal administration or, later on, by the Plenipotentiary
of the People's Commissariat of Posts & Telegraphs of the RSFSR in
the Ukraine. That order of things was retained in the Ukraine until
1923.

Unoverprinted Imperial Arms stamps, as well as Ukrainian issues and
even the Denikin "Edinaya Rossiya" set were used for postage during
this period. After the introduction of the postal rates of 5/10 March
in the Ukraine, stamps with face values of 1 to 20k. and 10 to 40
shahiv were officially revalued 100 times without any surcharge being
applied, i.e. up to the corresponding rouble values, the "Edinaya
Rossiya" set being withdrawn from use. However, at some places such
as Cherkassy, Khar'kov and Tul'chin, available stocks were
nevertheless surcharged by handstamps or manuscript, giving rise to
the so-called local provisionals. Ukrainian stamps had officially
been withdrawn as of 1 August 1920 (7), but in actual fact they were
still being used in some places even at the beginning of 1923.

Fig.26.

Fig.25 on the previous page shows a registered letter franked with 8 x
50-kop. Imperial stamps bearing the Podolia I trident. Although the
letter had been posted at Zhmerinka railway station on 5 April 1920,
its franking of 4r. still corresponded to the rates of 1/5 Nov. 1919.
The letter was not delivered, probably because at that time postal
communications were still lacking with Estonia (to where the letter was
addressed) and also the Russo-Polish War was just beginning. On the
other hand, the parcel card in Fig.26 on p.39, sent from Zhmerinka on
22 April 1920, was prepaid in full accordance with the rates of 5/10
March 1920. The franking includes 9 x 20-hryven' stamps, a 5-r. Arms
with the Kiev I trident and a Ir. Arms with the Kiev II trident, to
total 96 roubles.

--

Fig.27 above depicts an overweight local registered cover franked with
a single Khar'kov PY5 provisional on a 20k./14k. stamp with the
Khar'kov I trident. Finally, a parcel from Golovanevsk sent on 28 April
1921 (see Fig.28 on the next page) is franked with 6 x 15k.Arms stamps
with a Podolia trident revalued to 15r. and a single 10r. Arms without
overprint to make up the required rate of 100r.

By the end of April 1920, the Russo-Polish War had broken out on a
large scale. During that war, Polish troops occupied some parts of the
Ukraine including Kiev in May-June and then from September to November
1920. In those areas, the civilian administration of the Ukrainian
national government that had entered into an alliance with Poland was
restored. There is very little known about the postal services in those
areas during the summer and autumn of 1920. As A. Ivakhno reports (3),
new Ukrainian postal rates were introduced in that period.
Unfortunately, no exact date of their introduction is known yet
(according to V. Mohyl'nyj they were approved on 20 May), nor can the

COIIPOBOAHTEJIbHbI AAP

SE3-b 14ToHbl. '

E. ixar t:r: pexAe c AP
. .. .. .
layeil .. ... .a. is

Vft. Im. I
IlToro .

Fig. 28.

C

at. c-j-s J r- -I

i --

.. ....... .. ... ....... 4 -,.k-

u umea mUe ao ea. EKa-Te. -.- OK .
SEKaep. n.-T. OKp.

:.... ....... ---. .

FIOIIITOBA JI

Sr MapKH.
I> ; ..

..^a^2^ -yO^W.^

.......... .... .... .... .. ... ....

Fa uoM 30y ,oui numeen. miW*i peca,
Fig.30.

EKaTep. n.-T. OKp.

nIOITOBA JIHCTIBKA. .

F 2.---

Fig.29.
.... -.....- --'--- ..--.- ---

........ ... ...... ....

----------, I

1A
........ ./ .. ......
J^^A^^^^^^ ^/^

rates themselves be cited in the present article, since the section
of the study by A. Ivakhno with these rates has yet to be published.
However, proceeding from the fact that the face values of the notorious
"Courier Field Post" issue should correspond to the current postal
rates, it can be stated with reference to R. Ceresa (8) that some of
the basic rates were as follow:-

Naturally, postage stamps with high face values were required to meet
such rates. However, the only appropriate stamp available was that of
20 hryven', since the Arms stamps with the trident overprints applied
in 1918, especially in the values of 3r. 50k. to 10r., had basically
been used up by that time. A new set of pictorial stamps intended
especially for the rates mentioned above had been ordered in Vienna,
but the printing was finished only after the last Ukrainian troops had
been forced out of the Ukraine by the Reds. Therefore, a reference
about the late overprinting of Imperial stamps with tridents in Kiev
during the Polish occupation, i.e. in May-June 1920 (7) seems rather
probable. What are principally meant here are the stocks of stamps that
could not be evacuated from the post offices by the fleeing Soviet
authorities. In the main, those stocks would have consisted of Soviet
printings of Imperial stamps (particularly the 7-rouble with horizontal
varnish lines), delivered to the Ukraine from Soviet Russia at the
beginning of 1920.

Entires that have genuinely gone through the post in the western parts
of the Ukraine under the Directory government of Petlyura in 1920 must
be rare and the present author has never seen a single item of that
kind. However, used stamps and even pieces of money-order cards bearing
stamps overprinted with "late" tridents (Kiev I & Kiev II) do exist (7).
A claim about the alleged existence of genuinely used commercial or
private covers bearing the "Courier Field Post" stamps has not yet been
confirmed; all covers known to the present author franked with those
stamps appear to have been produced by stamp dealers.

In connection with the above remarks, some observations can be
expressed concerning a set of seven stamps on coloured papers with face
values from 1 to 25 hryven', allegedly issued by the Petlyura
government at Kamenets-Podol'sk in the autumn or winter of 1919 (9). No
covers or even genuinely used stamps have been found up to the present
and all such stamps with postmarks turned out to be forgeries made by
the late S. Schramchenko, who had defended the authenticity of this
issue. It is easy to see that the face values of the stamps in no way
corresponded with the postal rates valid in the parts of the Ukraine
under the Directory government, as they were too high. The stamps could
also hardly have been intended for the Ukrainian rates of 1920, since
the face value of 20 hryven' corresponding to the commonest category of
mail (ordinary letters) is missing. Therefore, if this set is not
completely bogus, it might at the most have been intended to meet some
new postal rates planned to have been introduced at the end of 1919,
but which did not actually come into force.

The period after the end of the Russo-Polish war until mid-August 1921
and even later is characterized by a severe shortage of postage stamps
in many offices of the Soviet Ukraine. As a result, payment in cash
with the corresponding markings on mail, or even without such markings,
was widely practiced. Figs. 29 & 30 on the previous page show two

registered postcards from the same batch of mail. The first was sent
from Lisichansk to Novaya Vodolaga on 16 June 1921 (the month is
clearly given in the message; the figure "9" for the month in the
cancellation must be an emplacement error in the datestamp) and is
franked with revalued Imperial stamps making up the 10r. rate. The
second postcard, which was posted on 1st. August, has neither stamps
nor a "paid in cash" marking, but it nevertheless reached the addressee.

A new period in the postal service of the Ukraine began as of 15 August
1921, when new, drastically increased postal rates were introduced.
That period, with its own peculiarities for the Ukrainian SSR, would
be the subject for a special investigation.

More information has come to light as a result of the article "The
Graf Zeppelin Set and Associated Material" published in "The Post-Rider"
No.31, pp.13-34 and the details are as follow:-

Patrick J. Eppel
I have a copy of the 40k. forgery of the 1930 Graf Zeppelin set. I have
not seen or heard of a similar forgery of the 80k. H.L. Aronson's
description of the item is very accurate and, yes, you are correct in
the assumption that it is unwatermarked. I bought the item a few years
ago from an APS Sales Circuit, where someone had mounted and priced it
as if it were a genuine stamp. The differences are so striking that it
would be impossible to confuse it with the genuine item. The only
reasonable explanations are that, either the previous owner had never
seen a genuine copy or, more likely, he was trying to dispose of
something and did not realise what he had. Nevertheless, my copy is
also cancelled but so poorly that the cancel is completely unreadable.

I also have a copy of the 80k. stamp which appears to be genuine. The
perforation is correct, the size is right and it is on watermarked
paper. However, it appears very yellowish, as if a yellow wash of some
sort had been applied to the surface. Also, portions of the details of
the design appear to have been eliminated. That was probably an
abortive attempt at chemical alteration of some sort. Any ideas?

Per-Anders Erixon

Pap .rvion y-lc "Gzf 4'pp'i"' _

oin to an unsul det o S n i the appop ate stp
.. ---- |

-\1

FROM MOSCOW SEPTEMBER 10,1930 VIA FRIEDRICHSHAFEN SEPTEMBER 11,TO SWEDEN SEPTEMBER 13,1930
SIGNED BY LEHMANN, FLEMMING AND ECKENER
First of all, I am showing above a card from the flight of 10 Sept.1930
going to an unusual destination, Sweden, with the appropriate stamps
and postmarks and a single-line unframed cachet struck at left, reading
"Luftschiffbau Zeppelin G.m.b.H."(Zeppelin Airship Construction Company
Limited). The card has been signed by Dr. Hugo Eckener, H. Flemming and
Ernst A. Lehmann, being received in Grdsberg on 13th. September.

Re the Aeroflot First Flight Moscow-Riga-Stockholm which took place on
1 July 1937, there were only 25 pieces of mail carried on that venture
and I show two examples on the next page. The first cover is unusual as
it is registered and was posted at the Moscow Etranger (International)
office on 30 June, the day before the flight. The special cover issued
for the flight was used and it was sent unsealed at the printed matter
rate. Taking into account the tariffs then in force in the USSR, we can
surmise that the total fee paid covered the foreign surface printed
matter rate of 10k., the foreign .registration fee of 80k. and the
foreign airmail supplement of 1 rouble. Most unusual and possibly
unique for a cover from this flight.

The second cover was mailed on the day of the flight and is similar in
franking to the examples reported by Andrew Cronin and Robert Taylor in
"The Post-Rider" No.31. As can be seen from the handwritten addresses,
all the covers so far recorded were sent to Sweden by one and the same
person, who also added the French word "Imprim6" = printed matter.
Do other CSRP readers have covers from this rare flight?

SOVIET UNION AIR MAIL

r

Par 1:er vol MOSCU-RIGA- STOCKHOLM.

-' ,,I
va~

PAR AAVION J

VA

RMOSCOU
_Nr 855 -
~T S ~- .,.'...l..

4T~~ ci1T;-- .iI
.-. ------
____ '____

; .:. .~
~-

I/

(N 6

LETTERS FLOWN WITH THE AEROFLOT FIRST FLIGHT MOSCOW-RIGA-STOCKHOLM,JULY 1,1937

(a) The white dot in the top bar of the figure "5", which we already
knew to be a constant variety on the perforated 40k. stamp affixed on
cards for the flight of 10 Sept.1930, is now shown above at top left
on the imperforate variety of that value. One can therefore surmise
that this imperforate stamp also formed part of the first printing.
Note the clear white framelines at left and right.

(b) The variety "circular flaw in the outer frameline at bottom
between the '0' of '80' and the 'K' of 'KOII'" can now be regarded as
constant as it occurs on the right-hand stamp of the imperforate pair
of the 80k. value shown above at left. Note also the white framelines
at both left and right on both stamps of this pair, which may again
have been part of the first printing for this issue.

(c) Finally, a card is shown at top right with the proper special
Zeppelin postmark of 10 Sept.1930 and the correct total rate of 50k.,
paid with the corresponding value from the Soviet definitive set of
1927-1928 on chalk-surfaced paper.

Further comments on this beautiful Zeppelin issue and its usages
would be welcomed from CSRP readers. especially supplementary data on
the Moscow-Riga-Stockholm First Flight of 1 July 1937.
*

FRANCO-RUSSIAN FRIENDSHIP STATIONERY (II)

by Jean Walton.

I am setting out here some additions and information on the Franco-
Russian Friendship Stationery illustrated in "The Post-Rider" No.31,
pp.69-76. These items come from the combined collections of myself
and David Winter, a fellow collector. I basically agree with the
approach of Marcel Lamoureux in dividing the material by time period
(or visit or event). When referring to previously illustrated
material, I have used the numbers in the text, preceded by the
initials of the author (ML a/ii; AP and AC iii, for example).

Some items are true postal stationery with imprinted stamp dies and
sometimes on regularly listed pieces of postal stationery. Where this
has occurred, I have indicated the H&G number of the basic piece of
postal stationery, listed naturally in the country of the stamp die.
46

Others are "simulated" stationery, i.e. the illustrations resemble stamp
dies but have no values imprinted and, finally, other items which make
no pretence of being franked. Occasionally, an item comes more than one
way, as the large French envelope which M. Lamoureux lists as b/ii.

The events for which these items were issued were as follow:-

(a) The Cronstadt/Kronshtadt visit in 1891 and the Toulon visit in 1893.
(b) The death of Sadi Carnot on 24 June 1894 at Lyon and of
Alexander III on 1 November 1894 at Livadiya.
(c) The visit of the Emperor and Empress of Russia to Paris in
October 1896.
(d) The visit of the French President to St. Petersburg in August 1897.
(e) The visit of the Emperor and Empress of Russia to Paris, Dunkerque,
Compiegne and Reims in September 1901.
There may have been other events, which will eventually be added to this
list. It is also easy to postulate that items issued for the visit in
1893 might finally be expected to be found with black borders, or that
colour sequences might have been repeated on more items than we have
currently uncovered. There is without doubt a wealth of material yet to
be discovered.

NOTES AND PHOTOCOPIES:
(a) The Cronstadt visit in 1891 and the Toulon visit in 1893.

Note: ML a/i (grey), an unperforated unfranked letter-card. Also in the
collection of David Winter, except that his is in green on buff.
(1) ML a/ii (grey)
S: a perforated
t unfranked letter-
PL3APTOE OICMO. CARTE-LETTRE. card. David Winter
SBceMipfi Iorot Cop Pooi- has this item
printed on greyish
UNION POSTAGE INTERNATIONAL stock in black,
Cronsotadt 1891 --Toulon 1893 blue, dark blue,
------ brown, green & red.
A I have only a
S front half used
M later (190?) in
:f (Brussels as shown
s G here with a one-
S..... centime stamp
Affixed. Perhaps
further postage
-: was on the back.
ML a/ii.: There is no
j.1H BCPLlTill uTpLuaTb paaH no upoxogy. Ther is n
SIpLTif .UT am ,pa 0 O, message on the
Pour oruvrir Il carte-letire, dicbirer en siivant le pointilk. reverse. M
S.... example is in
'green on greyish.
EDITORIAL COMMENT: Although the address has been obviously-obscured in
the card, the final line was definitely written as "E/v", i.e. en ville,
for local delivery in Brussels and the word "Imprime" written at top
right. The letter-card had been split into two parts and the front half
sent without any message to qualify for the one-centime local printed
matter rate.
(2) JW a/i, a perforated unfranked letter-card, printed on greyish stock
in the following colours: black and blue, with a framed inscription
reading in French: Cronstadt Juillet 1891*Toulon Octobre 1893. Please
refer to the illustration on the next page.

(3) AC/ii, a franked postcard, green on buff, with two imprinted one-
centime stamp dies at top left and bottom. I also have the same item,
printed in green on greyish stock, with an added printed address as shown
above at right ard used with two affixed stamps of 5 & 3 centimes as
directed in the two printed spaces on the card shown above at left, to
make up the 10-centime rate. There is no message on the back of the
franked card at right. It was sent on 13 October 1893.

(4) ML a/iv, an envelope with imprinted 15-centime die. My copy was used
was used on 10 December 1893 locally at Parthenay (Deux-Sevres); see at
left on the next page.

(b) The deaths of Sadi Carnot on 24 June 1894 and of Alexander II on 1st.
November 1894 (black borders).

(5) JW b/i, as ML a/iii, an unfranked letter-card, except with added
dates of death. His is printed in red; my two are in brown & dark blue.
See at top right on the next page.

(9) JW c/iii,
franked postal
cards similar
to, but not
exactly the same
as AP/i. Both
have 10-centime
stamp dies
imprinted on
them. The one
shown here is
similar to
H&G 54 of France,
except on buff.
The number "626"
is in the lower
left corner and
the Imperial
coat of arms is
imprinted below
the French
stamp die.

JW c/iv. This
one is as H&G54,
on greyish
stock. The
number in the
lower left
corner is "629"
and the
vignette with
the Empress
Alexandra is
imprinted below
the French
stamp die. I
also have a
used copy,
cancelled on
8 October 1896.

(10) JW c/v,
a franked postal
card of Russia,
H&G 11. While
this card makes
no mention of a
specific visit,
it is included
here because of
the similarly
framed bust of
Nicholas added
in black.

(11) JW c/vi & JW c/vii, franked wrappers on Russia H&G El & E4; see
the illustrations on the previous page. They also do not mention a
specific visit, but are included here because of similarity to the
preceding items. The additions have been done in black.

(12) ML b/ii, a franked envelope with a 5-centime stamp die of France,
H&G B3, size e, 152x116 mm., with rounded flap. The stamp die is in
green and impressed on buff paper. The framed portrait is in black (p.52).
For a used copy, see under (14), cancelled on 23 October 1896, with two
stamps affixed (5 & 15 centimes).

(16) JW c/xii, unfranked postcard, in two colours and sizes. Printed in
black: 140x92 mm. and brown: 145x96 mm. One is possibly a cut-down card.
See the illustrations on the previous page.

(17) AC/iv, an unfranked postcard, printed in brown. I have this item
used on 6 October 1896 with a 10-centime stamp added.
JW c/xiii, a franked postcard, printed in brown with the flags in colour.
I also have it used on 6 October 1896; no added stamp was necessary
because of the imprinted stamp die at bottom right.
See the bottom of the previous page for both of these examples, neither
of which has a Latin motto below the words "CARTE POSTALE".

(18) JW d/i, a franked postcard, similar to the above, except that all
the printing is in brown. A 10-centime die has been added at bottom
right, as well as a Latin motto above the word "PAX" and a further
inscription in French across the centre of the card, reading: "SAINT-
PETERSBOURG 24 AOUT 1897" (Saint-Petersburg, 24 August 1897).
JW d/ii, a franked postcard exactly as d/i, but flags now in colour.

(19) JW d/iii, a 3-kop. postal card of Russia, H&G 13. The original item
printed entirely in red, with all the additions in black, including the
bust of the President of France. Also used on 19 December 1897.
JW d/iv, a 4-kop. postal card of Russia, H&G 11. The stamp die is in
red, with all other printing in black. The visit date is 20 August 1897.

(e) The 1901 Visit of the Emperor and Empress of Russia to France.

(20) JW e/i, an unfranked postcard with a framed portrait of Nicholas,
printed in black on buff stock.
JW e/ii, an unfranked postcard with an oval portrait of Nicholas,
printed in black on pinkish stock.
Both of these items are shown at the top of the next page.
C; C

(21) Finally, a
view postcard of
Nicholas II and
Mile Loubet,
President of the
French Republic.
I regard this as
just a picture
postcard, but am
including it to
round off the
study, as it
seems apropos.

(b) Patrick J. Eppel.
CARTE POSTALE During the ten-year period of 1891
''- to 1901 referred to by the Franco-
,,,Russian Friendship stationery,
-., there were three Presidents of the
SA LA ME~IRE DE FLIX FAUBE French Republic who held office.
S .P ~II Ie3,anvr81 It would be useful to list them in
rlu Presidet,, de !a Rpubblique
e- 17 ~ A vie 18 sequence and they were as follow:-
4 mort A. Paris lo Iat Fivrier 1890
(1) Marie Frangois Sadi Carnot,
who was assassinated on 24th. June
1894 at Lyon.
(2) Fl6ix Faure, born in Paris on
31 January 1841, elected President
of the Republic on 17 January 1895 and who died in Paris on 16th.
February 1899, as stated on the mourning postcard shown here.
(3) Amile Loubet, who was the President during the 1901 visit and
whose portrait is also to be seen on the picture postcard featured by
Jean Walton on the previous page under item (21).

Now to some additions to the
Information provided by
S. previous contributors.

S(1) The death of the Emperor
Alexander III at Livadiya on
Ist. November 1894.

As can be seen from the
-..,: / illustrations here at left,
B.. soUNBN his bust, the French
.. ... inscription "SOUVENIR / du
:: ler Novembre 1894 / LIVADIA"
..and the Imperial coat of arms
were added to a French postal
.. '. stationery item with an
....... imprinted 5-centime die.
Note the mourning borders
around this piece.

S. Mourning borders were also
applied to the current
j.
--postal stationery enevlope,
i as well as a bust of the
Emperor in the top left
corner.

(2) Alexander III-Sadi Carnot
Combinations.

S'* In addition to the wrapper
shown by Jean Walton on p. 50
Sunder JW b/iii, there was one
mourning item with just the
framed visit dates "Cronstadt
Juillet 1891*Toulon Octobre 1893" and two others with the places and
dates of death, one of them lacking a full stop after 1894 and both
encased in a narrower black frame. See all three on the next page,
followed by JW b/iii for comparison. 57

One of the Cronstadt-Toulon
letter-cards with busts of Nicholas'
and Alexandra for the 1896 visit.

* -. -__L.-- .........

I

At least one of the wrapper settings was used for a letter-card,
commemorating the visits to Cronstadt in July 1891 and Toulon in October
1893 and with the vignettes reversed, so that Sadi-Carnot is on the left
and Alexander III is on the right (see the bottom left of the previous
page). That also opens up the possibility of mourning settings for that
type of letter-card.

(3) Cronstadt 1891*Toulon 1893 Letter Cards with the Alexander III
vignette in the upper right corner.

There were at least three settings of such letter-cards, differing in
the font for the French inscription UNION POSTALE INTERNATIONALE and the
printer's ornament two lines below. One variant is classified as ML a/ii
on p.47 and and is also shown by Per-Anders Erixon on p.56; two other
settings may be seen at top right right on the previous page.

(4) The Visit of the Emperor and Empress of Russia to Paris in 1896.

It would seem that at least some of the previously issued Friendship
stationery was utilised for this particular visit, as can be noted from
the busts of the Imperial Russian couple added to the back of one of the
Cronstadt 1891*Toulon 1893 letter-cards with the Alexander III vignette
in the upper right corner (see the example in the bottom right of the
previous page).

Another up-date from previously issued stationery is repeated above in
connection with the 1896 visit and features a framed bust of the
Emperor at left, plus similar treatment at right for the current French
President, Felix Faure. This item was originally advised by Marcel
Lamoureux in "The Post-Rider" No.31, pp.70-71 and demonstrates the
necessity that we must now start looking also for the original postal
stationery with the Alexander III and Sadi Carnot vignettes. The
original inscriptions were probably also different, as they presumably
would have referred to the previous Cronstadt 1891 Toulon 1893 visits.

EDITORIAL COMMENT: It seems obvious from the information we have
published so far that Marcel Lamoureux has really started something
with his contribution to the subject in "The Post-Rider", No.31, upon
following the query originally by Herman Z. Hirsch in "The Post-Rider",
No.28 and supplemented by comments from Colonel Asdrubal Prado of
Brazil. There is no doubt that this facet is still far from exhausted
and that a comprehensive catalogue could be made of all these mementos.
Further notes from the readership would be welcomed, especially about
used examples.
*

A 1922 COVER FROM SOVIET ARMENIA

by Allan L. Steinhart

Mail from Armenia during the stamp-issuing period is both desirable and
hard to find. Covers from the independent Dashnak Republic (28 May 1918-
2 Dec.1920, 11 Feb. to 1 April 1921) are especially sought after by
patriotic Armenian philatelists, but items from the intervening and
subsequent early Soviet era are just as rare and interesting. The
Armenian SSR was first proclaimed on 2 Dec.1920 and re-established on
2 April 1921.

As with other parts of the former Russian Empire, Armenia suffered
severely during the Civil War epoch, as can be seen from the picture
here of emaciated and ragged refugee children, taken from a book
describing that period: "Cossack Girl", written by a beautiful woman
Marina Yurlova (Cassell & Co., London 1934). A mute testimony of those
times is the registered cover herewith. It was sent by B. Bibrn of the
Norwegian Orphanage, 22 Sadovaya Street in Aleksandropol' on 28.9.22 to
Miss F.-Christensen in Copenhagen, where it wasbreceived on.3 November.
Incidentally, the Danes and Norwegians have always had close links,
since their two languages are practically identical. As can be seen
from the address, Mr. Bi8rn had a shaky grasp of the Russian language!

Anyway, inflation was raging in Soviet Armenia at that time, so the
postal rates were fixed in gold kopeks. The fee then paid was 24 kop.,
made up with the surcharges 10/2000r., a vertical strip of 3 x 4/25r.
and a horizontal pair of 1/lr. stamps. A nice item, in my opinion!

Pt A
iA

ARMENIAN REFUGEE CHILDREN

NOTES ON THE POSTAL STATIONERY OF RUSSIA

by Professor A.S. Ilyushin & Ya. Ilyushin (father & son)

Among the various items of Imperial Russian postal stationery issued in
the period from 1845 to 1917, the "banderoli" or wrappers with impressed
dies occupy a relatively modest place and they have practically remained
outside the scope of philatelic investigators.

In the dictionary of foreign words, the term "banderol'" is defined as
a paper wrapper placed around a class of postal sending in such a way
as to allow it to be seen. In the latter half of the last century, wide
strips of paper were adopted with stamp dies impressed thereon. One of
the first countries to put stamped wrappers into postal circulation was
the USA. Wrappers with an impressed 1i stamp showing Benjamin Franklin
appeared in the post offices in 1860. Stamped wrappers were issued in
1871 in Switzerland, in 1872 in Austria and Wlrttemberg and in 1874 in
Bavaria. They appeared in 1890 in the Russian Empire, but the despatch
of such wrappers had actually been taking place much earlier.

On an experimental basis, wrapper sending containing printed matter in
a pliable packing of cloth or paper were introduced in Russia in 1866
and the definitive adoption of ordinary wrapper sending in postal
operations dates from 1 January 1871. The rules for their despatch
were as follow:-

"Sendings, despatched in the post in an open condition, either under
wrappers or unsealed envelopes at a reduced rate, are designated as
wrapper sending. The following classes of mail are accepted for
despatch under wrappers in an open condition: (a) Matter produced by
printed, lithographed, engraved or other mechanical processes and
intended for despatch, (b) Commercial papers and (c) Samples and trial
runs of goods, that have no resale value.
Wrapper sending must not enclose letters or written matter of any
kind, having the character of current or private correspondence.

NOTE: For the despatch under wrapper of impermissible matter, a fine
of one rouble per lot (roughly h oz.) of such illegal enclosure will be
exacted on either the sender or the receiver".

The despatch of wrappers was permitted both within the Russian Empire
and abroad; in the latter case only to those countries that were
members of the UPU. As of 1 April 1889, new rates for postal services
were introduced in the Russian Empire. For wrapper sending, they were
the following:-

(1) For intraurban (local) wrapper sending weighing no more than one
lot: 1 kop. and above one lot: 2 kop. for every eight lots or part
thereof (2 kop.=d. sterling=l: US=5 gold centimes=4 gold Pfennig).
(2) A rate of 2 kop. was charged for every 4 lots of domestic or
50 grammes (=4 lots=2 oz.) of international wrapper sending.
(3) The minimum rate is 3 kop. for wrapper sending of commercial
papers for local despatch; 7 kop. for intercity sending and 10 kop.
for international despatch. For wrappers with samples of goods, the
minimum rate is 3 kop. for intercity sending and 4 kop. for
international despatch.

With the introduction of these rates, the General Administration of
Posts and Telegraphs forwarded on 29 November 1889 to the Office for
the Preparation of State Papers (EZGB or State Printing Office) an

order for the preparation of stamped wrappers, to be ready for sale on
1st. January 1890.

The first Imperial stamped wrappers consisted of rectangular slips of
yellowish-grey paper, on one side of which there was applied a strip of
gum about 8 mm. wide. On this same side, the tips of the wrappers were
trimmed at an angle of 450.

The first and all subsequent issues consisted of three wrappers in the
following sizes: A 88x376 mm.; B 134x376 mm. and C 177x444 mm. On
wrappers of size A the regular 1-kop. stamp die was impressed in orange
and, on sizes B & C, a 2-kop. stamp die in green. Furthermore, a long
band about 3mm. wide was printed in green in the middle of the 2-kop.
wrappers.

The second issue of wrappers took place in 1891 and essentially
repeated the first issue. However, in addition to the stamp die, a
three-line note was printed above, reading: "Where the rate for
despatch comes to more than 1 kop., the additional postage stamps are
to be affixed beside the shtempel'". By the word "shtempel'" there is
understood here the stamp die impressed on the wrapper.

A careful measuring of the wrappers of the 2nd. issue showed that their
dimensions varied within wide limits. In addition to a size of
177x444 mm., dimensions of 177x447 mm. & 178x450 mm. were found. There
are also differences in the lengths of the trimmed corners: 9 & 15 mm.
and in the width of the layer of gum. Moreover, many wrappers are not
rectangular, but trapezoidal in form, with the width at left shorter
than that at right.

A study of a large number of wrappers of the 2nd. issue also led to the
discovery of typographic varieties in the text of the notice. They are
clearly distinguished by the comparative arrangement of the letters in
the second and third lines of the notice. The present authors have
classified them as Types I & II respectively, as can be seen from the
illustrations on the next page. Type I is to be found on wrappers that
have passed through the mails in 1891 and subsequent years, while
Type II has only been discovered on examples used after 1900.

The third issue went into circulation on 2 January 1913 and was
produced in connection with the Tercentenary of the Romanov Dynasty.
Stamp dies in the values of 1 & 2 kop. of the Jubilee set were
impressed on the wrappers. It should be noted that the text of the
notice on wrappers of the third issue corresponds to Type II. The
total printing of this issue amounted to 2,360,000 copies.
*
NEW PUBLICATION!
The Philatelist's Guide to Maps, Atlases
and Gazetteers of Russia

by Peter A. Michalove

This book is a guide to sources and their use for postal history and provides an important
resource for collectors of the Imperial or Soviet periods. Topics covered include:
The development of mapmaking in Russia
Maps of various regions and periods
The use of postal guides and postal lists
Sources on placename changes and border changes
Railway routes
and more
order from: The Rossica Society of Russian Philately
Attn: Gary A. Combs $20 US for Rossica members
8241 Chalet Court $25 US for non-members
62 MillersviUe, MD 21108
USA

In addition to the fieldpost numbers listed in my original article, the
following are now also known:-
24470: Headquarters of the Spanish Legion.
25548: 2nd. Battalion of the Spanish Legion.
26611: 1st. Battalion of the Spanish Legion, i.e. NOT the 3rd. Battalion.
27893: 3rd. Battalion of the Spanish Legion.
It would appear that Fieldpost Nos. 04368 & 04016, originally assigned
to the 1st. and 2nd. Battalions, were never actually used.

A letter, also sent by Lt. Garcia Romeu in March 1944, went through
Fieldpost No. 20957, which was NOT allocated to the Spanish forces, but
apparently belonged to a field hospital somewhere in the K6nigsberg
area that treated the wounded of various nationalities.

I have since come across an article in English by John Walker and
published in "Stamps" of England in September 1981 under the title of
"Spain's Last European Expeditionary Army". It covers the activities of
the Blue Division and its successors on the Eastern Front. Comparing
his table of fieldpost numbers with mine, I see that they generally
coincide, except that, for the Staff or HQ of the 269th. Regiment, he
says 16937, while my article listed it as 16379. We are both wrong, as
the recent Michel catalogue of German fieldpost numbers of WWII gives
it as 16397!

Of great interest is an early card he illustrates, sent from the Eastern
Front on 14.8.41 to Barcelona, with an upright oval marking showing the
Spanish coat of arms in the centre and inscribed: DIVISION ESPANOLA DE
VOLUNTARIOS*MANDO*REGIMIENTO VIERNA (Spanish Division of Volunteers*

Command*Vierna Regiment, i.e. named after its commander. This is a
purely military cachet, never intended for use as a postmark.

He also shows an unusual airmail cover, franked with a 5-Pfg. Hitler
head of Germany and a Spanish Tuberculosis Benefit vignette, both
cancelled with provisional markings of Golaja Pristan 17.2.43, near
Kherson in the Ukraine and many miles away from the Spanish zone of
military operations. It was sent by Colonel Fernando Rodriguez of
Fieldpost No.29618 to a German civilian in Hamburg. This was NOT one
of the Blue Division fieldpost numbers, but probably that assigned to
the German Military Bathing Resort at Golaya Pristan' near the Black Sea.

Finally, Mr. Walker illustrates a Spanish airmail cover, sent from
Cartagena, Spain in December 1942 to a Spaniard at Fieldpost No.20154,
which was never assigned to the Blue Division. The addressee was
probably a civilian technician, recruited in Spain to work on
fortifications or in military industries in Germany or Poland. There is
a fair amount of this kind of material available in Spain, which is
sometimes mistaken for Blue Division mail.
*

The realisations for this outstanding sale were much greater than
expected and often reached record levels. They were a reflection both on
the quality of the material and the reputation of the owner. However,
there were some significant omissions of key items known to have been
held by Mikhail Vladimirovich, i.e. the unique mint blocks of four of
Russia 2 to 4 and the only known usage from the Imperial Russian post
office at Ulankom in Mongolia: a registered wrapper to Petrograd, dated
23.5.17. Perhaps they will turn up in future sales of this magnificent
collection. The following lots fetched exceptionally high prices in
Swiss francs and do not include the 15% buyer's premium:-

Lot 1019:

Lot 1033:

Lot 1111:

Lot 1137:

First day usage of No.l on letter from Kovno/Kaunas
2.1.1858 to Warsaw (see above at left) sFr. 145,000.-
2 copies of No.1 on a letter from Berdyansk
12.6.58 to a Greek merchant in Taganrog 48,000.-
No.2 on letter from Constantinople 24.5.63 to
Samsun with Austrian FRANCO cancel in blue 85,000.-
Blocks of No.5 (10), 6 (4) and 7 (4) mint 80,000.-

Lot 1217: 7 kop. with fiscal
S. hexagon wmk, used at Perm'
I 4.11.1880, ex Faberg6; only
4 copies known sFr. 60,000.-
SLot 1426: Romanov essays,proofs
& colour trials 55,000.-
Lot 1508: Russia 2,3 & 4 used
Son separate covers from
Sokol6w to Warsaw 75,000.-
S- Lot 1530: Postmaster
Provisionals and Inflationary
Period in 8 volumes 210,000.-
Lot 1531: 19 volumes of Soviet
issues 1921-1944 and excluding
airmails 230,000.-
(it is evident from the above
two realisations that the
break-up of the USSR has NOT affected the demand for Soviet material).
Lot 1603: 8-kop. postal stationery envelope, sent from Peking 4 May 1880
to Stuttgart (shown on previous page) 65,000.-
Lot 1636: Cover from Talienvan 12.10.1899 to Emden 65,000.-
Lot 1682: Official cover from the Border Commissioner of the
South Ussuriiskii District to the Russian Diplomatic
Mission in Seoul (see above at top left) 180,000.-
Lot 1775: Registered cover from Russian P.O. at Kobdo in
Mongolia 28.1.1918 to Peking 42,000.-

(b) Upcoming Corinphila Auction of 25-30 October 1993 in Zurich.
This sale will include
--- outstanding Imperial,
-Soviet and Zemstvo lots,
including a mint block of
I fa four of the 15-kop. Peasant
S". Head perf. 14:143 without
3 : watermark (the rarest
Soviet definitive), as well
as 500 Zemstvo letters and
-' J units, many ex Faberge.
One of the key items will
be the Zemstvo-to-Zemstvo
1z cover shown here. Franked
With a 3-kop. Dankov local,
the 7-kop. Imperial was
#- cancelled en route at the
Dankov P.O. 2 Sept. 1894.
It then went through
Moscow on the 3rd.,
arriving at the Bogorodsk Imperial P.O. the same day. Addressed to the
village of Fryanovo, it had a 4-kop. Bogorodsk Dolgovaya (Owing) Zemstvo
stamp affixed on 6 September. A lovely item!
/li
PHILATELIC SHORTS
DEAR READER:
Is there a question or point you would like to put
across to the readership; is there an interesting
stamp, cancellation or cover that you would like to
describe; is there an item in your collection that
could use some clarifying information, or might there .. *
be some gems of wisdom that you could impart on some
newly acquired item ?
.Share your questions, thoughts and wisdom, in the confines
of a couple of paragraphs with the rest of our readers

nOHTOBA(A2 3 1<

IF Q4;

.... ...............&..~/~. .... ...............
A *" .A .

-.... .. ... ...... ... ... ..

Fig.23. .

Alexander EpStein, Tallinn, Estonia.
Mute Circular Datestamp Postmarks for Soldiers' Mail in 1916-1917.
Further to my article with the above title in "The Post-Rider" No.31,
pp.34-39, I can now advise the existence of a further marking from
Petrograd, showing just the Cyrillic letter13(ZH) at top and bottom
(see the illustration above at left). It can be classified as:-
Type 0mm. 0mm. Bridge No.of
Post of outer inner width Code Aster-
office pmk. ring. ring. in mm. letter isks. Note
Petrograd IaH -~7 16 8 zh See Fig. 23 above.

Michael Renfro, Santa Clara, California, USA.
Mute Circular Datestamp Postmark for Soldiers' Mail in 1918.
Re the article by Alexander EpStein for the 1916-1917 period in No.31,
I am enclosing a photocopy, as shown above at right, of a card from
Bychikha, Vitebsk province 15.2.18 and bearing his Dvinsk Type 3
arrival, dated 17.2.18 and thus extending the usage of these mute
markings into 1918.
EDITORIAL COMMENT: Mr. Renfro's card is all the more significant, as it
was sent and received practically on the eve of the German advance into
what remained of the Baltic provinces, which forced the Soviet Govt.
to sign the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk on 3 March 1918.

J.V. Woollam, Dalwood, Axminster, England.
An Imperial Cover from Estonia to Canada
Re the cover written up by Allan L. Steinhart in "The Post-Rider" No.31,
pp.3-4, what needs explaining there is the U.K. (British) accountancy
mark "1d." on a cover after the UPU came into being, when such
accountancy was not needed.
My theory is that this is an example of how mail was accounted for, when
the letter was going from a UPU member (Russia) to a non-UPU member
(Canada), with another UPU member providing the carriage (U.K.). The
procedure was for the transit UPU member to charge for conveying the
letter to the non-UPU member. It marked the letter accordingly; a credit
to the U.K. and a claim against Russia. Usually, though, these UPU :
non-UPU charges were expressed in centimes.
EDITORIAL COMMENT: 1 silver kopek = 4 centimes; 1d. = 15 centimes (1878).

Al

u' ~ ~ ~ ~ M 41 ir"' v ." W

-. ..-- -- I

Professor A.S. Ilyushin, Moscow, Russia.
Reply-paid version of the first Imperial postcard
The first Imperial card was issued in blank form, i.e. without an
imprinted stamp, on 2 January 1872 (1st. January would have been a
holiday, with all post offices closed). The version shown above was
adapted by the I.I. Kvirin (Quiring?) factory of artificial mineral
waters at Myasnitskaya Street, opposite the General Post Office, as an
order form for its products. There is a most interesting last sentence
on the back, reading: "If this card is mailed without a stamp, it will
be paid for by the factory". In short, this is a very early version of a
business reply-paid card. Does anyone have a used example, showing that
such a postpayment actually took place?

Estate of the late Dr. Leonid Kvetan-Chenakalo, Florida, USA.
The "V" error of background used on a letter
The late Dr. Leonid Kvetan-Chenakalo, formerly of Kiev in the Ukraine,
was very proud of the letter to Denmark shown on the previous page. It
was franked with an L-shaped strip of five of the 3-kop. value with the
"V" error of background and sent from Kronshtadt 5 Oct.1871 O.S.,
passing through the St. Petersburg 7th. Despatch Office on the 5th. &
6th., to be handled by the Prussian border office at Eydtkuhnen the
next day (19 Oct.1871 N.S.). It had been fully prepaid, so it received
the Prussian marking: AUS RUSSLAND/FRANCO 19.10.71/iber BUR.XI.EDK.BRG.,
i.e. carried by the TPO/RPO Eydtkuhnen-Bromberg (now Virbalis in
Lithuania to Bydgoszcz in Poland). En route, the letter received the
transit rate marking "3", as shown on the front at bottom left and
possibly equal to 3 Silbergroschen 9 silver kopeks. If that were the
case, then the Imperial Russian Postal Administration would only have
received 6 silver kopeks for the transmission of the letter. Comments
are welcomed on this point.

The letter arrived in Copenhagen, Denmark on 21st. and was also handled
by the Christianshavn suburban office of destination on the same day.
The volume of mail between the Russian Empire and Denmark could not
have been great in those days. The "V" error of background on the 3-kop.
value was widely distributed to the post offices and is not hard to
find in used singles. Getting it on a letter is a horse of another
colour; this L-shaped usage is almost certainly unique and an exhibition
item. The present whereabouts of this item is unknown.

Patrick J. Eppel, Minnesota, USA.
Variety of Bronnitsy No.3
Re the note by G.G. Werbizky in "The Post-Rider" No.31, p.76, I have a
pair of what I think is the same variety. However, although what would
have been the rose centre is not rose, it is also not completely absent,
as it is to be found on postal stationery items which bear the same
dark blue design. Mine are light yellow-green, where it should be rose.
The description by Mr. Werbizky intimated that his is clear, or white,
just as in the postal stationery. My examples are "cancelled" with the
same ruled pen lines, just as Mr. Werbizky has shown.

John Bodnar, Adelaide, South Australia.

--~. ----

FIG. 1. FIG. 2.

The 1935 Moscow-San Francisco Flight over the North Pole Overprint.
With reference to used copies of this stamp, it is categorically stated
in ROSSICA No.75 of 1968, p.98 that, for this aborted flight, these
stamps were postmarked MOSKVA N 12/3-TSEKH/-3.8.35 "on the same and
only day...and with the same and only cancellation applied" (Fig.l).
In ROSSICA 100-101 of 1981, George Shalimoff has brought to our
attention the use of the dubious "MOSCOW 50 POSTAL STATION" marking on
this stamp as well (Fig.2). It is noteworthy that the date is correct
on this cancel. 69

.t.
: ...... ...;..

-- "* "* *" -' ,--'' "< .,"-'" -. "
4..4
FIG. 3. .... .. FIG .

I would like to reopen the debate by reporting the existence of a other
cancellation on this stamp. The copy with the normal overprint is
cancelled MOSKVA d EKSP. -3.8.35. The stamp is on coarse card a d on
the reverse are the initials HHR (WWR?) in pencil (see Fig. 3 abo e.
Another copy, now with the small "f" overprint (shown in Fig.4 he e),
also has this MOSKVA d EKSP. -3.8.35 cancellation on it. Again, this
second stamp is on similar coarse card and the reverse has the following
annotations: "ZAMOSTNY" in black and "Stop" in carmine. A final n te in
pencil refers to the Michel catalogue number of this stamp variety.
Is this a genuine cancellation? I would appreciate any comments.
EDITORIAL COMMENT: The "MOSKVA d EKSP." pmk. with various dates s a
known cancellation-to-order of the period and is also to be found,for
instance, on the Sverdlov-Nogin pair of 1934, dated -3.5.34.

John B. Mooes,.
Essex, England. __- ".

South Russian 1?E
stamps. .

details CSRP -
subscribers could
of the late '
use of South

i.e. after the
Soviet forces had ny.-. z I,
occupied the
relevant areas. Y
The photocopy V .,, --.:
herewith of an -l s l
item in my
collection shows R aLC.1 i.D1.f.'t o---
a registered 4co-
parcel card. It
has a manuscript 9 4 7B
"Red Army" at top Rif
and "Registered" rpa' '
over the printed .
"Value" section,
with the "COD"
part erased. It
was sent to a

Ksenia Nikolaevna Vystavnaya at Turki postal station in Saratov
province. It was sent from Romanovskaya, Kuban 5.7.20, received on
17.8.20 and has a manuscript note of receipt 21.8.20 by the addressee.
There is a cachet, rather than a label, for the registration No.724.
The rate of 100r. has been made up of 95r. for a weight of 38 funt
(1 Russian funt = 96 zolotniki = 409 grammes = 0.903 pounds avoirdupois)
and a registration fee of 5r. As there is no section in the table at
bottom left for the additional cost of registration, the abbreviation
"zakaz" has been inserted in manuscript. The card itself is of yellow-
buff stock and has an imprint at the base reading "Tiflis P.-T.O."
At the BSRP meeting of 28 March 1993, George Miskin exhibited the
subject of registration and, to my surprise, could not provide any
details of parcel registration from his extensive records. Perhaps there
is something in the literature that refers to this service or lack of it.

Andrew Cronin, Toronto, Canada.
(a) Another fiscal stamp from the Russian Zone on
the island of Crete. .
Further to the 6-piastre value shown in "The Post-
Rider", No.26, p.73, another fiscal with the
denomination of one piastre can now be recorded, as
illustrated here. Once again, the type-set frame t'i
and indications of value are in black, together
with a handstamped rectangular cachet in Greek, Wi; '
reading "CRETE/fiscal tax/being levied" in blue.
Finally, in the centre, there is the additional
impression in blue of the circular control cachet ,.. I
in Russian, which reads: "Ekspeditsion. Otryad na
Ostrove Krite" (Expeditionary Detachment on the -
Island of Crete), which also appears on the postage stamps of the
Russian Zone on Crete. The fiscal cancel reads CUSTOMS OF CRETE between
the circles and RETHYMNON across the centre, all in Greek.

(b) A commemorative envelope and postmark for Bronislaw O. Pilsudski.

s.po So. Cia .s .
B. 0. IIHICvYCKHa t
1866--1918
Kyda

Komy

HHneKK npeanpHra1n CBn3s H aapec oTnpasBTeAn

... .-: 2.: ---: .- -.-.

InHmHTe HHAeKC npeanpHeTHa cO3RH MeCTa Ha3Ha9eHHR
71

Immediately after your editor saw the c moment
W ZSRR k-4 reproduced here from "Filatelista" 4/19 2,
o je p.97, the organ of the Polish Federatio of
byo! Pilsudski na Philatelists, he fired off a request to the
stemplu ZSRR. Co -postmaster at Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and rec ived
prawda nie chodzi the special envelope and postmark illus rated
tu o J6zefa Pi- at the bottom of the previous page. The 7-kop.
sudk olskie, Mar- envelope is inscribed at left: "Investi ator
o jego brata, Bro- of the peoples of Sakhalin, B.O. Pilsud kii,
nislawa. nH 1866-1918" and also includes his bust. he
special postmark reads: "B.O. PILSUDSKI *
YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK POST OFFICE 02.11.1991, 1866-1918". Further
digging revealed that he was the brother of Marshal J6zef Pilsudski and
his senior by one year. An ethnographer and linguist, he was charge d
with participation in an illegal anti-Tsarist organisation and dep rted
to the island of Sakhalin in 1887. There he studied the languages nd
cultures of the Ainus and Gilyaks, as well as of the Ainus on Hokkaido
(Northern Japan). He was the Custodian of the Vladivostok Museum f om
1899 to 1906. He then returned to partitioned Poland and settled i
Zakopane, where he conducted ethnographic studies in the Podhale area.
Bronislaw Pilsudski is warmly remembered to this very day by the
inhabitants of the Russian Far East.

(c) Another 1936 Solar Eclipse Item
Readers are referred back to the article "Expedition Covers" in "The Post-
Rider" No.29 and specifically to pp.47-49. A postcard has now been found,
also sent by Carl H. Spriegel from Kustanai two days later on 10.6.36,
i.e. 9 days before the solar eclipse took place. It could only be
recognized from his cover of 8.6.36 featured on p.48 of No.29 and b th
items are shown for comparison at left on the next page, with the
Kustanai "g" cancel. That postmarker dates back to the Imperial period,
as can be seen from the parcel card sent on 27.2.16 to Kiev (refer to the
right of the next page). It pays to keep looking for such eclipse items'

Oleksandr Ivakhno, Dnipropetrovs'k, Ukraine.
About the background colour of a USSR miniature sheet of 1966
In the "Philatelic Shorts" section of "The Post-Rider" No.30, Morri
Gutenstein describes a 1966 Soviet miniature sheet for the 23rd. Co gress
of the CPSU (Scott No.3188), with the background in green instead o lake-
red. By no means is this an error of colour. It is much more likely that
the background colour for this sheetlet was changed under the influ nce
of the rays of the sun. At the end of the 1960s, I often saw these
sheetlets with an almost green background in the show-cases of the
"Soyuzpechat'" kiosks, where stamps were also sold, in addition to
newspapers and magazines. The fact was that the upper half of three sides
of the kiosks was made of glass. If a kiosk were not protected at a 1
from the direct influence of sunlight, then everything in the show- ases
on the sunny side would become strongly faded during the summer. Th
sellers in these kiosks normally displayed the stamps and sheetlets sold
by them in rows up against the fronts of the show-cases. If any of uch
stamps and sheetlets were not popular (and this sheetlet would have been
one of those items), then the demand would have been small and they
would lie for many months in the show-cases. As the inks with which many
stamps of the USSR were printed were not steadfast under the influe ce
of sunlight, then after many months of lying in the sun, such stamp
were turned into "rarities" and at times into colours completely
different from the originals.
Philip Robinson, Sheffield, England.
OMO another international language
The postcard shown on the next page with the designation at top in ussian
72

' An application of the KUSTANAI "a" postmark
27.2.16, thus dating back to the Imperial
period.

13or f

Ky. a-... ......._... .__.. .

* T.. 1

6s~4CL

OS.1

'' ''`'~IO

N. 41

I 0 T)
,' ;/'Y
t

and "OMO" .(?)
was issued in
1927 by V. F.
Kurenshchikov,
P.O. Box 85
in Sverdlovsk.
There is an
advertising
slogan at the
bottom in
Russian:
"Study the
humanitarian
language OMO-
the simplest,
most exact
and most
understandable".
The card was
issued in a
printing of
1500 copies. Does

Marcel Lamoureux,

anybody know anything about this language?

Rhode Island, USA.

An Automobile Ambulance Free Frank of WWI

I

':'-''
'' !
:*:.~
T~s~:

C'I4--~
..1 ..
0 I

-V IL
3 ~ ~~ '. r '' ':

... ... .. .. .. 0.. .-4 .. -. : ..:..;: ..

.4 : ; .- .'

The above cover bears a large circular marking in French, reading within
the circles: AUTOMOBILE AMBULANCE OF HER MAJESTY THE EMPRESS OF RU SIA
and in the centre: MILITARY POSTAL FRANKING, i.e. a free frank for
military mail, confirmed by the manuscript initials at top left (F.M. or
C.M. = Courrier Militaire). It then went through the French field post
TRESOR ET POSTES*27*28.12.15, on its way to Neuilly-sur-Seine, now a
suburb of Paris. where it arrived on the 30th.
EDITORIAL COMMENT: The writing is typically French, so this may ha e
been a French unit endowed by the Empress of Russia, rather than a
Russian unit then stationed in France. Further data on this unit w uld
be much appreciated.

I am very proud
to have secured
this card, sent
on 5.8.14 O.S.
(18.8.14 N.S.)
and received as
a PAQUEBOT item
on arrival at
the Japanese
port of Tsuruga
two days later.
It passed thro'
Yokohama on its
way to Denmark.
75

REVIEW OF ,

LITERATURE *

THE BRITISH JOURNAL OF RUSSIAN PHILATELY, No.72 for Spring 1992. A 64-
page softbound magazine in A4 format, issued by The British Socie y of
Russian Philately. All enquiries to the Treasurer, A.T. Blunt, Ri er
House, Osbaston, Monmouth, Gwent NP5 3NW, United Kingdom.

This issue has a cogent Editorial; Postal Charge Marks on Russian
Letters up to 1843 & Pre-1871 International Registered Mail, both by
A. Speeckaert; Two-Number Code on Russian Mail to West, by W.J. d
Jongh, followed by:an attempted reconciliation by Ivo Steyn of th
views of Messrs Speeckaert & de Jongh; Registration of Mail on Ru sian
TPOs (magnificent!), by Dr. R. Casey; Cover from Manchurian Campaign &
Stamps of Mountain Republic, both by A. Epstein; "Asobny Atrad" I sue
of Bulak-Balachovich, by S. Hornby; Current Events in former Sovi t
Union & Other People's Mail, both by Ivo Steyn, to end with Notes from
Collectors and Reviews.

No.73 for Autumn 1992 has 48 pages and includes an obituary of R..
Knighton; Notes on Petrograd-Kem-Murmansk Rly, by L.L. Tann; A Ko ek
Saved, by J. Moyes & D. Skipton; Kazvin Detachment P.O., by Dr.R. asey;
The Kerenskii Postcard (a delectable study), by A. Epstein; First Two
Issues of Lithuania 1990 (most thorough) & Current Events in the ormer
Soviet Union, both by Ivo Steyn, to end with Reviews.
A lot of serious work is recorded in the above two journals.

THE ROSSICA JOURNAL OF RUSSIAN PHILATELY, No.119 for October 1992 A
softbound magazine in standard North American size, issued by The
Rossica Society of Russian Philately. All enquiries to the Editor and
Treasurer, Gary A. Combs, 8241 Chalet Court, Millersville, MD 211 6 USA.

No.120 for April 1993 has 104 (!) pages, with an Editorial; Soviet
Postal Index System, by G. Shaw; 1843 Prusso-Russian Postal Convention,
trans. by D. Skipton; Fake Russian Offices Abroad Postmarks, by Dr. G.
Torrey; Brewery Order Forms on Imperial Cards, Esperanto Return Address
Label & The Language of Stamps, all by G. Combs; Russian America, by
V. Boiko; Imperial Russian Officers on Postcards, by Dr. W. Nickle;
Russian Stamps used in Aland Islands, Romanov 1916 Surcharges & Romanov
Postal Stationery Proofs, all by L.L. Tann; Zemstvo Operations at the
Turn of Century & ROPiT Documentation Markings, both by G.G. Werbizky;
Covers Relating to Russia, by M. Kessler; Huff Covers & Nezhin C.O.D.
Envelope, both by M. Ercolini; Early Letters from Russian Empire to the
Netherlands (magnificent!), by Ivo Steyn, to end with Reviews,
Advertisements and various Society notes.
A lot of ground has been covered in these two issues.

IIOqTA, Issue 12 for July 1992. A softbound journal of 66 pages A4 size;
the organ of The Australia & New Zealand Society of Russian Philately.
All enquiries to the Secretary-Treasurer, Terry Archer, 313 Mahurangi
East Road, Snells Beach, Warkworth, New Zealand. Annual subscription
of US $18.00 for overseas subscribers by surface mail.

No.13 for January 1993 has 62 pages and includes an Editorial;
Correspondence Russia to Australia & N.Z.; Society Notes; Souvenir
Postcard 1896, by Col. A. Prado; Locally Perforated Imperial Stamps &
Addenda to Estonian Posts, both by A. Epstein; South Russia Money Order,
Postal Rates etc., Marshall Islands (Battle of Moscow Dec.1941) &
Bellingshausen, all by Dr. A.R. Marshall; Troitsk/Novo-Nikolaevsk
Censored, by N. Banfield; Georgia Part II, Soviet Philatelist &
Ostarbeiter Mail, all by G.G. Werbizky, the last also with B.R. Beede,
to close with New Issues, Literature and Advertisements.

No.14 for July 1993 has 54 pages, with an Editorial; Correspondence
Russia to Australia & N.Z.; RSFSR Foreign Postal Rates 1917-1923 &
Postal Stationery No.4, both by A. Epstein; Soviet Philatelist, by R.
Taylor; Georgia Part III, by G.G. Werbizky; Kazakhstan's First Stamps,
by G. Bromser; Violations of UPU Code of Ethics, Air Expo '92, Aviation
in Russia, Aviation Cinderella Stamps, Spanish Republican Political
Labels, Numismatics & St. Petersburg Russia Datestamp, all prepared by
Dr. A.R. Marshall; Julian to Gregorian Calendar, by H. Smits; Combine
Harvesters, by G. Lindsay; Tale of Three Postcards, by T. Archer;
Express Mail 1921, by H. Irmann-Jacobsen; Lithuanian Independence, by
R. Vainora; More Wrappers & Stamps and Banknotes, both by L.L. Tann;
Numismatics Again & Vladivostok-Shanghai "zh" Postmark, both by N.
Banfield, to terminate with New Issues and Literature Received.
Highly varied fare in these three fascinating issues!

TUVA OR BUST, by Ralph Leighton. A 256-page paperback, published by
Penguin Books at US $10.00 or Can. $13.99. This title was brought to
77

our notice by Harry Sutherland QC RDP of Toronto. The illustrate ns of
the Tuvan pictorials throughout the book were supplied by CSRP
subscriber George Alevizos of Santa Monica, California, USA.

This unusual work details the efforts of the author and his now ead
friend Professor Richard Feynman (winner of the Nobel Prize for hysics
in 1965) from 1977 to June 1988 to establish contact with and fi ally
visit Tuva. Professor Feynman passed away before the trip finally came
about and the book is padded with many extraneous asides. Upon f nal
arrival in Tuva at the end of the book, the author really does not tell
us much about the country. However, Mr. Leighton is also active in an
organisation putting out a newsletter about Tuva. Please write f r the
latest newsletter, enclosing a stamped and addressed envelope of legal
or business size to: FRIENDS OF TUVA, P.O. Box 70021, Pasadena,
California 91117, USA. They also offer some unusual goodies, det ils of
two of which being given directly below.

The sheet .of 28 .
vignette show av, I ln memory of Richard Feynman. a (i
printed in Canada, is
available in green or
red at US$2.00 each i:
postpaid. The card
here at right is also
US$2.00 and has been
postmarked on 14.8.91in
Kochetovo, where Tuvan
independence was
declared 70 years
earlier. A coloured
reproduction of the
triangular vignette
is printed on the back
S m M u Artw.rk rirltey of Mirha.l M.llndy (I 1991 .all rightn rnrved ).
of this card. An Pn.i mll.yFrn..,IfTl.v... BT.. 70. P. n. .. 91 USA.
unusual souvenir!

JOURNEY TO TUVA, by Dr. Otto Mdnchen-Helfen. A translation into English
by Alan Leighton of the original German work "Reise ins asiatische Tuwa"
(Verlag "Der Bucherkreis", Berlin 1931) and now published in a 292-page
+ one map paperback by Ethnographics Press, University of Southern
California, Los Angeles 1992. Available at US$15.00 postpaid from
Friends of Tuva, P.O. Box 70021, Pasadena, California 91117, USA.

Dr. M&nchen-Helfen was originally a Sinologist, but also a noted
anthropologist and historian who, together with his wife, migrated to
the USA after the advent of Nazism. He was one of the few foreigners
ever allowed to visit Tuva in 1929, after having served from the autumn
of 1927 as the Chairman of the Department of Sociology and Ethnology at
the Marx-Engels Institute in Moscow. However, he was no admirer either
of the Bolsheviks or of the regime they had installed in nominally
independent Tuva, as is made clear in the book. His fascinating
impressions, written mainly from an anthropological viewpoint, have been
supplemented by the translator with a mass of updated footnotes,
appendices etc. almost equal in extent to the original text. He stated
that there was only one post office operating in the republic in 1929
(at Kyzyl), but your editor remembers seeing years ago the 8-kop. value
of the 1927 pictorial set with a non-philatelic postmark of Shagonar.
Despite the passage of time, this book is still the standard work on the
subject and it should be in the library of every Tuvan collector.

The author gives a masterful summary of the complex history of the
country, followed by a thorough study of the postal issues of the
Musavat and young Soviet republics, including the many forgeries. A
most useful work and it is hoped that the illustrations can be improved
in future parts.

Section B of the same country (Azerbaijan) continues the numbering to
438 pages, with unbelievably detailed specialisation including into the
Transcaucasian Federation era, cancellations 1917-1924, bogus issues,
etc. Available from the author at f23 (U.K.), A24 (Europe), US$45.00
(North America) and US$48.00 (Rest of the world), all postpaid.

THE 1931 POLAR FLIGHT OF THE "GRAF ZEPPELIN", by John N. Duggan. A
Cerlox softbound book of 86 pages in A4 format, published in November
1992 by the Zeppelin Study Group of the Germany & Colonies Philatelic
Society and available from the author at 59 Garth Road, Builth Wells,
Powys LD2 3AS, United Kingdom at 912.50 plus postage and packing
(roughly US$23.00 in all).

This most comprehensive study is wonderful value for the money, as it
includes 6 large pages of illustrations in colour, is a marvel of desk-
top publishing, draws on a mass of documentation from English, German,
Russian and U.S. sources and, most importantly for us, presents a
thorough examination of the Soviet stamps and mail carried on the
North Pole flight, including the postmarks of the icebreaker "Malygin",
dated 18 & 27 July 1931, as well as the special Leningrad marking of
the 25th. The rare Leningrad date error 35.VII.31 is even shown as a
transit marking on a card with the German 1-mark Polar Flight overprint
to the town of Success, Saskatchewan, Canada. Highly recommended!

79

UKRAINIAN PHILATELIST, Vol.39, No.2(62) for 1992. This journal of The
Ukrainian Philatelic & Numismatic Society is a softbound magazine of
64 pages in standard North American size. Available for US$5.00 rom
the editor, Dr. Ingert Kuzych, Box 3, Springfield,VA. 22150, U.S.A.

INTRODUCTORY HANDBOOK OF UKRAINIAN PHILATELY, edited by Dr. I. K zych.
A 126-page softbound magazine in standard North American size,
produced as a special edition of the Ukrainian Philatelist, Vol. 0,
No.1/2(63/64) for 1993. Available for US$10.00 from Dr. I. Kuzyc

Dedicated to all collectors of Ukrainian stamps, past, present a d
future on this the 75th. anniversary of the first stamp issues o the
Ukraine 1918-1993, the special edition has been compiled by 12 1 ading
philatelists in the field and is divided into two parts: Part I ith
ten chapters comprising a survey of the many facets of Ukrainian
philately, with Part II being a catalogue of Classic Ukrainian
Philately 1918-1923. Acquiring a copy of this seminal work could be the
best ten dollars one could spend and the Ukrainian Philatelic an
Numismatic Society is to be warmly congratulated on producing such an
excellent introductory study. Finally, just a slight correction o the
catalogue. The 10-hryven' surcharge of the 3rd. Stanyslaviv issu No.63
is not just "extremely scarce", but the rarest straight stamp in
Ukrainian philately. Only two examples have been recorded, the copy
from the Marquess of Bute collection being without gum as a result of
putting out fires during a blitz on London during WWII.

UKRAINIAN COLLECTORS'WORLD, No.l for Jan.-Apr.1993. A 16-page booklet,
issued in English as a publishing project from 5117-8th. Road North,
Arlington, Virginia 22205 USA by M.B. Tatuch & V. Zabijaka, with V. G.
Bekhtir of Kiev as editor. The annual subscription is US$5.00 or quiv.

This work is being published on behalf of the Ukrainian Philateli
Association in Kiev being devoted to recording new issues of st mps
and postal stationery, revaluations, literature reviews and the
publication of classified ads relating to Ukrainian philately.

INTERIM REPORT No.l for April 1993, issued by The Society for the Study
of the New Republics of the former USSR (SSNR/USSR). The coordina ors
of this group are Michael Padwee, 163 Joralemon St., Box 1520, Br oklyn,
N.Y. 11201 and CSRP subscriber Peter Bylen, P. 0. Box 7193, Westchester,
Illinois 60154, both of the USA.
The purpose of this study group is self-explanatory and this firs
report consists of ten pages of exploratory information.
Interim Report No.2 for June 1993 has since appeared with some 10 pages
of well-classified data and the scope also extended to include th
dismemberment of Yugoslavia. Please write to either of the coordi ators
listed above for further details and enclose a stamped envelope.

EESTI FILATELIST No.35 for 1993. A softbound book of 192 pages in A5
format issued by the Estonian Philatelic Societies in Sweden and ew
York. Priced at 180 Swedish crowns and available from the editor: Elmar
Ojaste AIJP, Mandolingatan 17, S-421 45 VASTRA FR6LUNDA, Sweden.

After a hiatus of more than three years since the appearance of #33-34,
this prestigious journal is now back on track and the contents cover
all facets of the reestablishment of the postal service of independent
Estonia, with the first new rates going into effect as of 1 January
1991. The rest of the magazine is taken up by a cumulative subject
index of "Eesti Filatelist" Nos.l-35 from 1955 to 1993; a useful guide.

RUSSIAN POSTAL HISTORY 1857-1918, by Martin Holmsten. A softbound
booklet of 96 pages, published by Oy Rurik Ltd., Box 432, SF-65101
Vaasa/Vasa, Finland and available from the author for 135 Finnish marks
or equivalent at the same address.

This publication serves as an introduction to Russian postal history
and is the first attempt in Finnish and Swedish, with English included
to reach a wider readership. It has a pricing guide of stamp(s) on
cover, apparently based on the Michel system and followed by a listing
of the "dots" postmarks, TPOs/RPOs, postage due markings, steamer
cancellations, certain foreign rates in 1861 and Imperial rates 1844-
1917, to end with illustrations of 15 cards and covers considered
interesting by the author. The point to remember about books of this
kind is that the pricing reflects local market conditions and could
thus be at drastic variance with price levels elsewhere. We will
enlarge on this subject in the editorial for "The Post-Rider" No.33.

3AKA3HOE RECOMMANDIRT, by Harry von Hofmann. A book of 320 pages
16.9x24 cm. published by the author hardbound at the pre-publication
price of DM 100,- and now available in a softbound edition at DM 68,-
postpaid from Harry von Hofmann Verlag, Postfach 52 05 18, 22595 HAMBURG,
Germany. Please consult the author as to the current availability and
price of the hardbound edition.

This book is a masterly study of the registration system in the Russian
Empire from the beginning of the 19th. century to the end of WWI in
1918. After a seven-page study of the origins of the service, the author
devotes practically the rest of the work to illustrations of many cards
and covers, explained by concise texts and covering the early period; "R"
markings of St. Petersburg; the addition of foreign labels; the
introduction of labels in the Russian Empire; services offered by the
telegraph offices; railway, ship and used abroad examples; fieldpost
sending; the WWI mute period; Zemstvo services; the Russian Posts in
Poland and Finland and much, much more. With so many examples shown, it
is not necessary to know German in order to understand what the author
is saying, based on his magnificent collection of the subject. There is
always the chance that one may be able to identify new discoveries after
consulting this work, as Dr. A.J. Schlichter has shown on p.4 of this
issue of "The Post-Rider". Highly recommended!

DIE TSCHECHISCHE LEGION IN RUSSLAND VOM BEGIN 1914 BIS ZUR HEIMFAHRT
IM JAHRE 1920 (The Czech Legion in Russia from the beginning in 1914
until the Homecoming in the year 1920), by Horst Taitl. A 70+1-page
book in A4 (legal) format, published by the author at Kiesquellenweg 1,
A-6850, DORNBIRN, Austria in an edition of 200 copies in August 1992.
Please consult the author re availability and price.

This study in German provides background information, historical data,
postal history of the Legion and details of some of its official
documentation, illustrating as well some of the picture postcards
issued during that period on practically every page. It is thus very
easy to follow even without a knowledge of German and an excellent
reference if one is collecting the postal history of the CzechoSlovak
Legion in Russia and Siberia. Strongly recommended.

SOVETSKII KOLLEKTSIONER (The Soviet Collector) No.28. A 192-page
paperback in A5 size, issued by the then Union of Philatelists o the
USSR and published by "Radio i Svyaz'", Moscow 1991 in an editio of
40,000 copies at a pre-inflation price of 6 roubles.

This delayed number continues the high standard set by its prede essors
and includes The Field Post of the Russian Army in the Far East 900 to
1906 (most informative) by N. Mandrovskii & A. Epstein; Missing erfs.
on RSFSR & Soviet Stamps 1918-1980 (similar to the work done by SRP
subscriber P.J. Eppel), by Ya. Dimanshtein;Postage Due Mail of Russia &
USSR 1858-1945 (good introduction), by L. Ratner; Classification of the
Zemstvo stamps of the Podol'sk District (very thorough), by M. Minskii;
Mute WWI Markings of Russia:Baltic area, continued by A. Levin;Si birsk
Postcards, by E. Firstova & M. Zabochen'; Soviet Commem. Medals, y M.
Shaten; First Attempts at Milling Russian Coins in 18th. Century, by M.
Smirnov; Imitative Coins & Counter-Stampings of the Kazan' Khanat by
S. Zverev; Award Badges of Chemical Industry, by B. Golender; Badges of
the Russian Tourist Society, by M. Azarkh; Soviet Special Purpose Bonds
by V. Terebov; Catalogue of Soviet State Internal Loan Bonds, by u.
Ivonin & Yu. Gogolin; Soviet Army Banknotes in Liberated Europe, y B.
Senilov; Tokens of Trading Enterprises, by K. Lebedkin; Amusement Park
Tokens, by V. Nazarov; Charity Labels, by Yu. Tolstov; First Sovi t N.
S. Calendar, by D. Odintsov; Bells of Kasimov, by I. Dukhin; Phot s of
Soviet Mercantile Marine & Navy, by A. Vinogradov; Swords of De R bas,
by F. Kamenetskii; New Catalogue of German Banknotes, by V. KuzmeAko,
to end with Book Reviews & Additions to Catalogue of Soviet Coins 1958-
1990.
Very varied fare here and the Union of Philatelists of Russia has
assured us that they intend to continue publication in the future By
the way, the Soviet Army banknotes for Hungary deliberately contr buted
to the disastrous 1946 inflation, but the same notes retained their
original purchasing power in the neighboring Carpatho-Ukraine as the
border with Hungary had been sealed.

This serious journal contains an Editorial, Ekaterinoslav Postal &
Telegraphic District 1918-1919, Postal Rates of Ukraine 1918-1920,
Catalogue-Manual of Ukrainian postage stamps, Truth is stranger th n
fiction, 1991 Dnipropetrovs'k Provisionals, Documents, Notes on
Auctions & Exhibitions, Reviews, Notes and adverts., all by O.Ivak no;
Varieties of stamped letter-cards and money order forms of Russia
Where is fantasy and where is truth?, both by A. Epstein; Mysterio s
Postcard, by M. Minskii and Reissues of Soviet post-WWII stamps, b A.
Sem@nov and D. Khromov. Much original and impartial research here.

KORESPONDENCJA OBOZOWA W OKRESIE II WOJNY SWIATOWEJ (Camp Mail in the
period of World War II), by Stanislaw Baradski & J6zef Falkowski. A
190-page softbound book plus "korekte" in A4 (legal) size, published by
the Warsaw District Branch of the Polish Union of Philatelists.

This wonderful work is basically the postal history of the Rape of
Poland 1939-1945, written by two recognized experts in the field. The
book is divided into four parts: Part I covers the concentration and
extermination camps in Germany and the occupied territories; Part II,
which especially concerns us, looks at the concentration and labour
camps in the USSR, including where exhumations of murdered Polish
officers are still taking place to this very day; Part III discusses
the camps for interned Polish servicemen in Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania,
Roumania, Spain & Switzerland and Part IV examines the protective camps,
to where Poles were taken after liberation. The text throughout is in
Polish, but the contents are easy to follow because of the hundreds of
illustrations and the summaries at the end of the book in English,
German and Russian. There are 270 titles listed in the bibliography and
a very limited supply is available through our Journal Fund below,
together with a freebee of the 1992 Barcelona Philympex miniature sheet
imperforate, which sells for around US$8.00 nowadays in Poland.

RSFSR: PRETISKOVA A 3. STANDARDNI EMISE 1922-1923 (RSFSR: THE SURCHARGED
AND THIRD DEFINITIVE ISSUES OF 1922-1923), by Ladislav Cervinka. A
72-page booklet in A5 format, issued by the Traditional Philately
Section of the Union of Czech & Slovak Philatelists, Prague 1992 in an
edition of 200 copies.

Written by a knowledgeable investigator of the field, this work goes
into detail about the varieties, numbers issued, forgeries, usages,
plate markings and gutter positions of all the issues of the period
prior to the introduction of the gold currency, including two lovely
examples of the first overprintedd) airmail stamp on covers to Berlin.
The text throughout is in Czech, but easy to follow because of the many
explanatory illustrations. Available through our Journal Fund below.
*

JOURNAL FUND
Orders should be made payable to the CSRP, Box 5722 Station-A, TORONTO,
Ont., Canada. All previous titles are unfortunately sold out.

RSFSR: PRETISKOVA A 3. STANDARDNI EMISE 1922-1923 (RSFSR: Surcharged &
3rd. Definitive Issues of 1922-1923). A very comprehensive study and
easy to follow because of many illustrations.Price postpaid US $ 7.00.

RUSSIA ZEMSTVOS, by F.G.Chuchin. The English edition, reissued by John
Barefoot in 1988 with clear illustrations in the right places on 92 pages
A4 size with Cerlox binding.Fine reference! Price postpaid us $18.00.

ARMENIAN SOVIET ENCYCLOPAEDIA, Vol.12, 1986 with entry about philately
& 2 pages in colour of Armenian stamps and foreign related items. In
Armenian and a great conversation piece! Price postpaid US $16.00.
83

THE COLLECTORS CORNER

DEAR COLLECTORS:
Are you still missing that elusive item in your
collection or philatelic library; do you have some .
duplicate material that you would like to trade or
sell ? We can publicise your want-list and/or your
.-duplicates for the most reasonable rate of 25 / line '
(minimum of $1.00 payment; maximum insertion of 16
lines), excluding name and address. Unless otherwise
stated, all the catalogue numbers quoted are from Scott.
Ads from collectors only will be accepted.. Dealers are
invited to respond.
NOTE: The Society disclaims all responsibility for any
misunderstandings that may result between exchanging parties.
FOR a new biography of Isadora Duncan, one-time wife of S.A. Yese in, I
would appreciate receiving letters, reminiscences and memorabilia
PETER KURTH, 985 North Avenue, Burlington, Vermont 05401, U.S.A.

MY newly revised and greatly expanded (130 pages) Philatelic Libr ry
listing has been published. Cost is US $6.00, deductible from fir t order
of over US $30.00. Many low-cost but excellent reprints are avail ble.
A very limited quantity of Scott 212 mint in panes of 25 is available.
Position No.17 on the pane has plate variety: period between 10 and Rub.
(See Philately of the USSR, 2/1982,p.51). Price is US $40.00; compare
with Serebrakian's pane without variety at $50. FIRST COME,FIRST SERVED.
ALEX SADOVNIKOV, P.O.Box 210073, San Francisco, California 94121-0073,US.